DAVID DEROSA
Delray Beach ,Florida
Summary
Detail-oriented team player with exceptional organizational skills and a proven ability to successfully manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining a high degree of accuracy.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Director of Merchandising / Sr. Category Manager
Birdiebox
11.2023 - Current
- Oversee all buying and forecasting, including GM%, GM$, Top line sales, turn, sell thru, and markdown cadence.
- Work with CEO/CFO on all KPI's and metric goals. Led team that saved nearly 12% in Cost of Goods Sold for 2024.
- Effectively manage all vendor relationships and create business partnerships through targeted negotiation to ensure the best terms and pricing.
- Work with CEO to develop all assortments and strategies including our 4 proprietary brands and our domestic partners.
- Collaborated with marketing team to develop promotional campaigns that drove significant sales growth with key partners such as NCAA, ACC, US Open, DR Horton, United Airlines, etc.
- Coach and mentor international and domestic buying teams to drive business growth..
- Key player in cross functional collaboration on a weekly basis with marketing, sales, and operations.
- Work with sales directly on key product ideation for top clients needs
- Work with customer service to ensure an elite experience through gifting and service.
Director of Operations
BBC International
01.2022 - 01.2023
- Oversaw successful implementation of operational strategies and policies to drive organizational growth and productivity.
- Mentored and coached 12 customer service team members whose primary responsibility was to ensure the proper and timely placement of customer orders for timely shipping.
- Collaborated with senior management to develop and execute long-term corporate goals and objectives.
- Establish targeted KPI’s within the department and developed processes and tactics toward continuous improvement.
- Responsible for routing guide compliance and developing packaging guides to ensure limited charge backs and liability.
- Worked collaboratively with functional leaders to implement new procedures and corrective actions to improve quality.
- Responsible for E-commerce, customer on boarding oversight
- Member of Chargeback Committee, RA Committee, and PLM Committee.
- Oversaw day-to-day production activities in accordance with business objectives.
- Collaborated with senior management to develop and execute long-term corporate goals and objectives.
- Established and monitored quality assurance standards to achieve operational excellence.
Retail Consultant /Senior Procurement Specialist
Self Employed
01.2020 - 01.2022
- Evaluated client needs and expectations, establishing clear goals for each consulting engagement.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to successfully deliver comprehensive solutions for clients.
- Managed client relationships through regular check-ins and updates on project progress.
- Identified areas of improvement for clients'' operations, implementing targeted solutions to increase productivity.
- Conducted thorough market research and analysis, providing valuable insights for client decision making.
- Negotiated with retailers and vendors on behalf of clients, securing favorable terms and conditions.
- Streamlined communication processes for clients, enabling more effective collaboration and decision-making.
- Cultivated positive relationships with vendors to deliver timely and cost-effective supply of services and materials.
- Helped meet changing demands by recommending improvements to business systems or procedures.
Senior Buyer
Academy Sports and Outdoors
12.2018 - 07.2020
- Responsible for all aspects of the buying function within the Baseball and Football (hardlines) categories including; sales, turn, margin, advertising & marketing, store floor plans, vendor relations, contracts, and e-commerce
- Manage $210 million in sales across all categories
- Ran an increase of $3m in sales in football, hit all KPI’s in 2019
- Responsible for creating and implementing strategic plans that align with the overall company goals and strategies
- Work closely with the financial team to create plans and goals that would drive sales increases in all categories
- Lead a team that consists of Assistant Buyers, Replenishment Analysts, and Planners
- Initiated a total realignment of the baseball and football categories on the selling floor throughout the chain
- Assist the import team on innovation and opportunity on private label goods
- Active member on internal committees for various company initiatives.
Senior Buyer
Sports Authority
03.2010 - 05.2018
- Responsible for buying functions for the following categories: Team Sports, Football, Sports Medicine, Volleyball, Hockey, Wrestling, Lacrosse,
- Manage over $200 million in business across 17 major categories in 465 stores across the U.S
- Responsible for assortment planning, pricing, advertising strategy, inventory turnover, vendor negotiations, floor plan layout, and management of regional assortment variances
- Work closely with planning team to effectively drive sales in all categories across all stores.
- Increased overall sales by 8% in 2011, 12% in 2012, 2% in 2014, and 3% in 2015
- Instrumental in building partnerships with key vendors such as Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, Riddell, Shock Dr., Cutters, Wilson, North Face, Merrell, Alpine Design, Reef, Teva, Ugg, Columbia, Hi-Tech to build the overall team sports business and footwear across all categories
- Prepare and present monthly presentations to senior management
- Responsible for sales trends, assortment strategies, gross margin, and open to buy to align with overall company strategies
- Manage a team of 12+ associates across multi functional teams.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - History
Fairliegh Dickinson University
Teaneck, NJSkills
- Retail Merchandise Buying
- Product Lifecycle Management
- Vendor negotiation
- Omnichannel Retailing
- Merchandise Planning
- Vendor Sourcing
- Forecasting
- Process Improvement
- Inventory Management
- Excellent Communication
- Price Negotiations
- Relationship Building
- Leadership Development
- Personal Training and Nutrition
Accomplishments
- Supervised team of 12 staff members.
- Resolve product issues through consumer testing
- Used Microsoft Excel to develop assortment tool
- Member of Chargeback committee, PLM committee, and RA committee 2022
- Member of Assortment committee 2013
- Buyer of the year 2012
- Scholarship Athlete (Baseball)
- 3 time Physique Competitor
- Certified Personal Trainer
- Certified Nutrition Coach
Timeline
Director of Merchandising / Sr. Category Manager
Birdiebox
11.2023 - Current
Director of Operations
BBC International
01.2022 - 01.2023
Retail Consultant /Senior Procurement Specialist
Self Employed
01.2020 - 01.2022
Senior Buyer
Academy Sports and Outdoors
12.2018 - 07.2020
Senior Buyer
Sports Authority
03.2010 - 05.2018
Bachelor of Arts - History
Fairliegh Dickinson University
Similar Profiles
DAVID DEROSADAVID DEROSA
Director of Merchandising at BirdieboxDirector of Merchandising at Birdiebox
Ana Beatriz OliverosAna Beatriz Oliveros
Warehouse Associate at BirdieBoxWarehouse Associate at BirdieBox
Julia BolourforoshJulia Bolourforosh
Director of Operations at BirdieBox LLCDirector of Operations at BirdieBox LLC