Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Horsemanship
Technical Expertise
Timeline
Generic
LIBERTY ANDERSON

LIBERTY ANDERSON

Portland,OR

Summary

Dynamic and results-driven merchandising, sales, product, integrated retail, marketplace, and trend specialist with 25 years of experience leading and empowering teams through transparency, trust, development, and coaching. Exceptionally adept at delivering against leadership priorities, strategy development, fostering cross-functional collaboration and alignment, process innovation, and problem-solving. Highly skilled in harmonizing art and science to craft strategic long-range product line plans, curate consumer-centric, trend and data-informed assortments, and create holistic franchise plans that elevate brand positioning and exceed fiscal objectives.

Overview

21
21
years of professional experience

Work History

Senior Director, Global Merchandising

BURTON
07.2022 - Current
  • Introduced comprehensive assortment strategies and product evolution plans in alignment with long-range fiscal objectives. Instated assortment architecture, franchise optimization, lifecycle trajectory, and seasonal initiative planning to effectively serve consumer demand, maintain brand positioning, consistently deliver innovation, and exceed targets.
  • Developed, secured CEO support for, standardized, and deployed all-encompassing omni-channel inventory optimization strategies facilitating in-season agility, regional specificity, and maximizing profitability.
  • Adeptly led over 25 remote global and regional merchants across multiple countries, time zones, and diverse cultural norms. Empowered team leads, streamlined execution of seasonal deliverables, and eliminated duplicative workstreams, resulting in enhanced productivity and effectiveness.
  • Boosted morale, reduced turnover, and cultivated collaboration and inclusivity, transforming adversarial and underperforming teams into highly productive and cohesive partners through transparent leadership, fostering trust, and tailored coaching.
  • Identified analytical process gaps and initiated enhanced organizational proficiency in appropriately informing product development through augmented performance analytics, enhanced consumer insights, harmonized marketplace signals, and informed trend forecasting. This led to significant improvements in classification and SKU efficiencies, more robust franchise plans, and consumer-centric product journeys.
  • Implemented comprehensive work-back calendars and operational process improvements to enhance planning, forecasting, and supply chain efficiencies, reducing inventory risk and enabling enhanced responsiveness to the latest performance signals and marketplace intelligence.
  • Optimized product evolution, inventory, and distribution strategies, resulting in more effective demand servicing and consistent delivery of 2x year-over-year growth.

Director, Merchandising

NIKE
08.2013 - 07.2022
  • Effectively led multiple high-performing Global and Regional Merchandising teams across all categories and genders. Managed all aspects of staffing and development, ensuring business continuity through organizational transitions, COVID-19 business and operational impacts, as well as shifts to both virtual and hybrid work environments.
  • Aligned e-commerce expansion with digital shopping trends, accelerating implementation of consumer-direct operational tactics. Utilized KPIs, site merchandising analytics, and consumer insights to develop strategic product segmentation plans aimed at enhancing and personalizing connected membership, and driving distinction across Nike Direct and third-party key account wholesale businesses.
  • Spearheaded holistic product and marketplace strategies for Nike SB's inaugural Olympic kit offering. Collaborated with top-tier cross-functional leadership to secure approvals, obtain additional SKU count, and gain budgetary funding for multi-tiered launch activation plans and segmented inline collections.
  • Pioneered innovative seasonal hindsight methodologies integrating KPIs, marketplace analytics, geographical insights, competitor analysis, marketplace shifts, trend forecasting, color productivity, and consumer insights. Leveraged findings to inform line plan strategies and guide "edit to amplify" assortment reductions, driving 40% improvement in style productivity by narrowing consumer purchasing decisions, realigning pricing architectures, driving greater cohesion in cross-categorical offerings, and prioritizing consumer-centric seasonal features.
  • Collaborated with cross-functional leaders to architect and initiate multifaceted strategic product transformation plans, marketplace segmentation strategies, and innovative launch initiatives, successfully restoring consumer confidence, revitalizing brand popularity, optimizing profitability, and consistently surpassing seasonal and fiscal targets.
  • Oversaw development, sourcing, and planning teams to optimize inventory management, align to margin targets, and proactively mitigate risks in meeting fiscal goals and strategic objectives.
  • Established departmental performance goals and demonstrated advanced leadership acumen through enhanced mentorship and professional development while deftly managing adverse external circumstances and challenging team dynamics.

Director, Sales & Merchandising

DAKINE
10.2008 - 08.2013
  • Managed 12+ territory merchants and account representatives, consistently driving high double-digit YOY growth in e-commerce through product attribute enhancement, effective seasonal initiative deployment, and informing and adapting digital penetration strategies at pace with KPIs, evolving consumer behavior, and marketplace trends.
  • Leveraged analytical expertise in synthesizing extensive market research identifying customer attitudes, marketplace dynamics, and competitive analysis with KPIs to inform design and development in conceptualizing and creating product concepts aligned with market trends and brand vision, effectively increasing product adoption rates by 35%.
  • Directed finalization of seasonal assortment plans, efficient execution of merchandising strategies, and precise factory forecasting, effectively ensuring optimal in-market presentation while minimizing inventory risk and profitability erosion, improving gross margin by 15%.
  • Supervised strategic wholesale partnerships, accumulating performance indicators and marketplace insights to inform innovative product, merchandising, and retail marketing initiatives that boosted revenue growth 20% YOY during peak recession.

Director, Merchandising & Sales

Zumiez
01.2007 - 10.2008
  • Fueled 40% of annual vertical retail sales across 330 doors and digital ecosystem through strategic sourcing of emerging brands and implementation of innovative promotional product pairing, driving sustained double-digit comp growth in traditional and online channels.
  • Led multiple buying teams overseeing high-priority categories, offering strategic guidance, empowerment of ownership, and vendor negotiation coaching to align categorical and vendor buy plans with historical performance, future business objectives, and revenue and margin targets.
  • Reviewed, refined, and presented seasonal assortment overviews for DMM approval, ensuring cohesive holistic, classification-based, and key item offerings across various dimensions, including color, silhouette, price point, and in-store presentation dates.
  • Seamlessly collaborated with functional stakeholders across design, development, graphics, marketing, and senior leadership to achieve consensus on seasonal initiatives, product offerings, consumer-facing strategies, and financial objectives.

Director, Merchandising & Sales

HURLEY
06.2002 - 01.2007
  • Transformed national sales structure and drove 2x growth in Junior's business by transitioning from holistic brand representatives to specialized gender-targeted teams, each equipped with tailored product offenses and sales strategies.
  • Established thriving partnerships spanning all distribution channels, including key action sports industry accounts, department stores, specialty boutiques, and off-price liquidators.
  • Increased market share by leveraging KPIs, marketplace indicators, and industry trends to inform line planning and collaborative alignment with design and product teams, enabling development of consumer-centric assortments and segmented seasonal offerings.
  • Managed NYC Sales and Marketing Operations, spearheading product launches at renowned non-endemic retailers, including Barney's New York and Bloomingdale's.

Education

Associate of Arts -

College of Marin
Kentfield, CA
05.1993

Skills

  • Comprehensive merchandising mastery
  • Shaping organizational strategy
  • Collaborative, transparent partnership
  • Cultivating high-performing teams
  • Insightful mentoring and leadership
  • Identifying innovative opportunities
  • Delivering insightful solutions
  • Implementing strategic vision
  • Navigating complex challenges
  • Enhancing effectiveness
  • Data-driven decision making
  • Achieving targeted results

Horsemanship

  • Lifelong multi-discipline equestrian
  • USHJA Adult Amateur Jumper, Zone 9
  • Senior Amateur USEF #5025172

Technical Expertise

  • Sustainability Proficiency
  • Olympics Outfitting
  • Assortment Stratification
  • Functional Design
  • Market Segmentation
  • Performance Product
  • Material Mastery
  • Technology Integration
  • Global Seasonality

Timeline

Senior Director, Global Merchandising

BURTON
07.2022 - Current

Director, Merchandising

NIKE
08.2013 - 07.2022

Director, Sales & Merchandising

DAKINE
10.2008 - 08.2013

Director, Merchandising & Sales

Zumiez
01.2007 - 10.2008

Director, Merchandising & Sales

HURLEY
06.2002 - 01.2007

Associate of Arts -

College of Marin

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