William A. Haas II
Williamstown,NJ
Summary
Results oriented business professional with experience in corporate and field retail environments. Proven ability to deliver financial results through effective strategic planning, negotiating, and proactive problem solving. Collaborative Communication Style leading to strong cross functional team work. Possess strong analytical skills with the ability to create reports used to analyze business and create future strategies.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
Work History
Buyer
Forman Mills
01.2022 - 06.2023
- Mens/Boys Underwear & Socks, Mens/Kids Uniforms
- Buyer responsibility increased to $25,000,000 million in sales
- Increased Branded sales volume from $1.0 Million to $3.0 Million
- Maintained current vendor relationships while adding new vendors product to the assortment.
- Maintained Imu above 52% while raising average retail and lowering markdown rate during 2022 Fiscal year.
- Maintained key item stock levels and wrote or expedited purchase orders.
- Built long-term supplier relationships with vendors to establish quality and competitive pricing.
- Collaborated with internal departments to better understand needs and determine purchasing requirements.
- Responsible for training and developing the Associate buyer of Mens/Boys Accessories with a volume of $10.0 Million.
Buyer
Forman Mills
08.2016 - 01.2022
- Mens/Kids School Uniforms, Mens/Boys Accessories & Sleepwear, Mens Tailored Clothing,
- Promoted to buyer August 2016. Responsible for annual sales of $22,000,000 million.
- Increased mens sleepwear sales 12% from 2016 to 2017 while increasing turn by 10%
- Worked with vendors to review product lines, and negotiated prices, quantities, terms and deliveries
- Fall 2017 Collaborated with other buyers to develop a new holiday gift set up for family sleepwear and accessories
- Monitored trends and pricing by competitors
- In 2019 Revamped the entire back to school uniform department for boys and girls. Created an individual floor set up plan for each store and narrowed vendor base. Reworked retail price structure and margin requirements.
- Responsible for creating both” top down “and “bottoms up” seasonal financial plans for area of responsibility
- Collaborated with planning department in the forecasting of financial, including sales, gross margins, and inventory turnover.
- Optimized sales in Masks during 2020-2022 fiscal years of $4 Million
- Maintained key item stock levels and wrote or expedited purchase orders.
- Communicated with vendors regarding inventory needs and negotiated prices to maintain profit margins.
- Forecasted purchasing trends and improved merchandising strategies.
- Analyzed current vendors and products to stay abreast of market trends and evaluate new suppliers.
Associate Buyer
Forman Mills, Mens/Boys, Sleepwear
02.2012 - 08.2016
- Team Apparel
- Reported directly to Mens Divisional Merchandise Manager
- Achieved annual sales of 10 million dollars in fiscal year 2012
- Increased gross margin by $500,000 over previous year
- Created SMU programs for Key items and trend items
- Added numerous categories to mens accessory department including mens jewelry, mens watches, mens gift sets as well as raising average retail sales
- Shopped a 200 plus vendor base: included cold calling jobbers in search of deals/opportunity buys
- Developed the overall product assortment for all stores in keeping with Forman Mills product/price strategy
- Prepared and analyzed reports to track inventory and purchasing trends.
- Researched and identified new suppliers and vendors.
- Studied and monitored market trends to identify potential suppliers.
- Sourced new vendors in effort to boost range of products offered in store locations while reducing costs through strategic contract negotiations.
Assistant Buyer
Mens
01.2010 - 02.2012
- Apparel & Accessories
- Created spreadsheets and utilized retail math to help analyze the departments business on a weekly, monthly and seasonal basis
- Weekly review of style selling and placing reorders
- Maintained on order by tracking purchase orders to ensure vendors shipped on time
- Analyzed sales and margin reports
- Allocated all purchase orders for this department
- Responsible for communicating with store personnel regarding product knowledge, visual displays and maintenance of department
- Trained and mentored approximately 6 newly hired assistant buyers
- Traveled to all Forman Mills Stores to aid store personal with product placement, product knowledge and overall department set up
- Maintained complete documentation and records of all purchasing activities.
- Monitored incoming orders and tracked progress to meet deadlines.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Communication Studies, Advertising
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV05.2007
Skills
- Merchandising Operations
- Purchasing Strategies Development
Timeline
Buyer
Forman Mills
01.2022 - 06.2023
Buyer
Forman Mills
08.2016 - 01.2022
Associate Buyer
Forman Mills, Mens/Boys, Sleepwear
02.2012 - 08.2016
Assistant Buyer
Mens
01.2010 - 02.2012
Bachelor of Arts - Communication Studies, Advertising
West Virginia University
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