Elery M Hoban

Responsible for selection, sourcing, and vendor partnerships to create an assortment and strategy that will achieve the category financial plan.

• Develop the merchandising strategy and financial plans for the department
• Responsible for development and Marketing of Private Label brands
• Train and develop Assistant Merchants, Merch Assistants and Retail specialists

Partner with department management teams to manage sourcing, production, technical services, and technical operations.

• Oversee costing exercises for Hardgoods Soft Storage product lines.
• Negotiate cost savings with vendors.
• Transition select product groups to world-class full-service vendors to achieve 20% product cost savings overall.

Managed the development of Cabela's branded products for casual outerwear and the Guidewear and XPG brands from conception to commercialization.

• Developed product line strategy to inform decisions on design, materials, construction, marketing, and sourcing.
• Partnered with Merchandising, Marketing, and Suppliers to launch Coolcore fabrics within Guidewear Fishing clothing and accessories, achieving $1.3M in sales at 52.9% GM.
• Mentored a Product Development intern in creating a new line of Women's Guidewear fishing clothing; half of the design concepts were adopted.
• Achieved multiple Product  awards within the Company as well as Field and Stream.

Provided functional input and direction for strategic merchandising initiatives to drive process efficiency, meeting of deadlines, and development of sustainability plans. Worked for both MP&I and Merchandise Operations departments.

• Fostered awareness and understanding of merchandising strategy from an MP&I perspective.
• Led change management initiatives to educate MP&I on updated processes and systems.

Partnered with Space Planning to facilitate product placement and merchandising in each retail location. Executed retail lifecycle for products, including unplanned inventory, under-performing products, calendar management, and retail trends. 

• Conducted competitive analysis and retail advertising for product groups.
• Simplified retail processes to streamline assortment review with an emphasis on core business.
• Generated a seasonal retail pricing strategy calendar to ensure consistency of retail pricing and reduce the need for signage changes.

Collaborated with creative teams to facilitate product placement and merchandising in catalogs.

• Performed competitive analysis
• Managed direct advertising product lifecycle, including unplanned inventory, under-performing products, calendar management, and direct trends.
• Simplified the process of creating catalog pages by developing a written manual.
• Devised and executed seasonal Internet strategies.
• Partnered with marketing on branded pages to ensure consistency of brand message.

Coordinated all direct channel offers to ensure superior customer experience.

• Navigated web store categories, production processes, item maintenance, site operations, and online customer experience. 
• Developed seasonal Internet event strategies with the Men's and Women's Casual Clothing teams.
• Contributed to the launch of a new Cabela's.com in 2010 in collaboration with the customer service team.

Reporting to the Director of E-commerce Operations Manager, performed administrative support.

• Responsible for www.cabelas.com reporting for homepage, email, landing pages, and marketing programs.
• Championed the production of the company's e-catalog.

Progressed through various customer service positions, including Customer Service Supervisor and Email/Internet Representative.

• Created a "scorecard" for order entry outfitters to ensure that customer satisfaction standards were met.
• Initiated a holiday time-off perk based on attendance.