Thomas O'Connell
Castle Rock,Colorado
Summary
Accomplished retail leader with over a decade of experience in driving sales and managing accounts within fast-paced environments. Expert in developing strategic plans, enhancing customer relationships, and maximizing brand visibility. Proven track record of exceeding sales targets, optimizing product assortments, and implementing efficient order management processes. Committed to leveraging expertise in sports and fitness to drive growth through data-driven insights and product knowledge.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Operations Manager
Lululemon Castle Rock
Castle Rock, USA
11.2023 - Current
- Directed retail operations, including financial management, pricing strategies, inventory oversight, supply procurement, and facility maintenance, to ensure seamless functionality.
- Designed and managed weekly schedules, optimizing customer service while ensuring timely and accurate payroll and administrative task completion.
- Delivered leadership and guidance on the retail floor, enhancing team efficiency and driving exceptional customer service through regular one-on-one meetings and on-the-floor training.
- Maintained accurate inventory controls and utilized data-driven strategies to optimize sell-through, minimize slow-moving inventory, and maximize profitability.
Retail Training Manager
Fleet Feet Corporate
04.2022 - 11.2023
- In April, I was promoted to this position at the corporate level
- As a member of the Retail Experience and Education team, I assist with leading retail education and training strategies and focus on store-level retail trainers and the overall development of our future brand leaders
- The position helped drive brand-wide sales metrics by focusing on education and coaching for store-level retail experience managers within our company-owned locations
- Monitor performance of retail experience managers to identify opportunities
- Provide one-on-one support to individual retail experience managers
- Perform store visits to provide in-person training and shoulder-to-shoulder coaching
- Support virtual training for new retail experience managers quarterly
- Participate in calls that enable retail experience managers to collaborate monthly
- Prompt discussion among retail experience managers through slack
- Assist in creating training content for newsletters and training events as needed
Retail Experience Manager
Fleet Feet
01.2020 - 04.2022
- As a Retail Experience Manager my responsibility is to take lead with staff development and training
- As part of my role, I had the opportunity to work with each outfitter on the sales floor by communicating professionally with the team by setting individual and team expectations, delegating tasks, and providing training and resources to develop the team
- In addition to team training and development, I also maintain a log to document training, coaching in the moment
- In addition to helping the team set goals, I also set goals for myself and the stores within this log
- Over the last year I have been given opportunities to travel to other markets and help train other RXMs
- Fleet Feet moved to a centralized buying system with auto replenishment of accessories from the Distribution Center
- I saw this as an opportunity to fill into the Retail Experience Manager role
Inventory Manager/ Buyer
Fleet Feet
03.2015 - 01.2020
- When Go Run transitioned into Fleet Feet the stores were able to create more positions
- I was moved into an Inventory Manager/ Buyer role for both locations
- In this role I did all buying of products sold in store (footwear, apparel, and accessories)
- Futures and at once ordering were part of this role
- Buying required me to dive more into data analytics and budgeting
- This ensured that we had the optimal level of product flow
- Maintaining counts of inventory and processing transfers of goods was also part of inventory management
- Beyond the roles and responsibilities of Inventory Manager/ Buyer I still played a vital part on the sales floor
- As the most tenured staff member I was instrumental in ensuring new hires understood the procedures and products they were offering
- I also helped lead all expos and large events such as races
Education
HS Diploma -
Andover High School
Andover, KSSecondary Education
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KSSkills
- Sales and Account Management
- Strategic Planning and Execution
- Brand Presentation and Product Strategy
- Forecasting and Reporting
- Inventory Management and Order Coordination
- Customer Relationship Building
- Training and Mentorship
- Data-Driven Decision Making
Timeline
Operations Manager
Lululemon Castle Rock
11.2023 - Current
Retail Training Manager
Fleet Feet Corporate
04.2022 - 11.2023
Retail Experience Manager
Fleet Feet
01.2020 - 04.2022
Inventory Manager/ Buyer
Fleet Feet
03.2015 - 01.2020
HS Diploma -
Andover High School
Secondary Education
Kansas State University
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