Jake Perella
Bentonville,AR
Summary
Ambitious, hungry, and reliable cross-functional leader focused on bringing value to a team through relentless effort toward achieving goals. Leader-developer and analytical-thinker who is passionate about motivating and developing future leaders while working toward overall business growth and operational excellence.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Director II, Sales, Mass/Department/E-commerce
Claire's
Bentonville, AR
05.2023 - Current
- Responsible for driving profitable growth at Walmart US, Walmart Canada, Macy's, Kohl's, DSW, Red Apple, Amazon NA, UK, and Germany (~160M in revenue)
- Implemented sales strategies while leading finance, operations, replenishment, field, and product teams to achieve goals
- Worked closely with organizational leadership (ELT) to guide overall strategy - briefed ELT on results
- Introduced and drove new operational and inventory workflow to drive sales, reduce shrink, and restore data integrity
- Ownership of P&L, sales budget, and sales forecasts for the year
- Led high-level strategy meetings and Top-to-Tops with DMMs and GMMs to ensure long-term health of the business with Walmart
- Doubled business in Dept 26. at Walmart in revenue for fiscal 2024
- Led line reviews in Hair and Beauty Department (expected launch in 2025 - $20M)
- Set strategy to grow Amazon FBA from $2M in revenue to $5M - projected 20% growth in 2024
- Developed young leaders to ensure future stability and success of the company
- Selected by ELT as Ambassador of the Early Leaders ERG group with specialty in the Mentorship Program
National Account Manager - Walmart Team
Claire's
Bentonville, AR
07.2021 - 05.2023
- Responsible for sales and strategy execution for the Walmart business from an omnichannel perspective, a business worth $115M
- Hired, developed, and led the dedicated Walmart team for Claire's in Bentonville
- Led initiatives that grew Walmart business from $70M in 2022 to expected $115M in 2023
- Strategized, pitched, and won business in two departments in Walmart US (Depts. 32 and 26), and three departments in Walmart Canada (Depts. 32, 33, and 46). Wins brought an incremental $45M in new business (in-line and off-shelf)
- Worked directly with Walmart Merchants, Asst. Merchants, Planners, DMMs, etc. on business strategy
- Oversaw launch and execution of Walmart modulars
- Developed modular strategies to drive sales and reduce field labor with use of data analytics
Regional Account Manager
Shurtape Technologies
Bentonville, AR
09.2019 - 07.2021
- Responsible for growth and development of business with six different departments at Walmart, as well as Sam's Club (~$12M)
- Worked directly with Walmart/Sam's Club Sr. Merchants, Asst. Merchants, Replenishment Managers, and Planners on business strategy, item proposals, as well as general tasks
- Helped create and oversee Walmart.com growth initiatives with seven different departments at Walmart, as well as Sam's Club
- Worked with internal teams to develop strategies that best fit the customer while also benefitting the company from both a sales and margin perspective
- Though in a sales role, still managed forecasting, OTIF metrics, and other general supply chain performance statistics and analytics, both internally and with Walmart, across my respective responsibilities
Business Analyst
Shurtape Technologies
Avon, OH
01.2016 - 09.2019
- Began as a Customer Supply Chain Analyst in Jan. 2016 – was promoted within 18 months to Business Analyst
- Managed forecasting and order replenishment for key strategic customers (Walmart, Dollar General, Office Depot, Meijer)
- Drove efforts to reduce compliance fines and oversaw implementation of recommended solutions
- Took over sales analytics/category management role for the Dollar General business in 2017 – resulted in becoming the Category Advisor for our respective departments
- Analyzed product, market, and share trends to evaluate competitive market strategies
- Worked directly with customer merchant teams by providing analytical insights and recommendations for assortment changes, item additions/deletions, and promotional activity to drive growth
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Marketing
Walsh University
North Canton, OH05.2016
Skills
- Cross-functional leadership
- Customer relationships
- Sales, margin, EBITDA target achievement
- Finance and P&L Ownership
- Operational strategic planning and implementation
- Actionable analytics
- Team motivation and leader development
- Business and demand forecasting
- Budget planning and management
- Inventory strategy
Certification
- Learning Evolution Trained Category Analyst
- Learning Evolution Trained Category Manager
- Ambassador, Early Leaders ERG Group, Claire's
Timeline
Director II, Sales, Mass/Department/E-commerce
Claire's
05.2023 - Current
National Account Manager - Walmart Team
Claire's
07.2021 - 05.2023
Regional Account Manager
Shurtape Technologies
09.2019 - 07.2021
Business Analyst
Shurtape Technologies
01.2016 - 09.2019
Bachelor of Arts - Marketing
Walsh University