Mary Beth Tome's Email Addresses & Phone Numbers

Senior Buyer @ Cracker Barrel From January 2006 to January 2009 (3 years 1 month) Lebanon, TNBuyer @ Caldor From 1991 to 1996 (5 years) Senior Buyer Home Décor, Furniture, Storage, Housewares, Home Fragrances @ Telco Stores Buying and Merchandising Home Décor, Furniture, Storage, Housewares, Home Fragrances, Stationery. Reporting directly to company Principals. * Utilizing my expertize...

Senior Buyer @ Cracker Barrel From January 2006 to January 2009 (3 years 1 month) Lebanon, TNBuyer @ Caldor From 1991 to 1996 (5 years) Senior Buyer Home Décor, Furniture, Storage, Housewares, Home Fragrances @ Telco Stores Buying and Merchandising Home Décor, Furniture, Storage, Housewares, Home Fragrances, Stationery. Reporting directly to company Principals. * Utilizing my expertize and strong vendor relations to improve the overall look and feel of the Home Décor and Housewares departments. * Enhancing assortments to appeal directly to customers by location. * Streamlining product offerings by category, eliminating duplication for improved turn * Increasing profit margins by 35% through negotiation skills with key vendors * Increased sales by 50% in one year. Brooklyn, NYBuyer Home Décor and Storage @ Burlington Stores, Inc. Established the foundation to achieve an aggressive corporate goal to improve sales and shopper frequency in the underleveraged Home Décor and Storage departments in 9 months. Reported directly to DMM. • Analyzed existing sales by store to retain the appropriate inventory of high volume products. • Negotiated up-front and opportunistic buys, both import and domestic. • Extensive knowledge of the storage category including key vendors and competitive pricing. • Shopped competitors weekly to assess price points, inventory strategies and trends. → Accomplishments• Improved store allocation and optimized inventory by conducting a systematic analysis of each of the 525 stores.• Within one month, top-rated doors saw a substantial increase in sales, traffic and turn by upgrading the product assortment. • Accomplished double-digit weekly sell through percentages on new products with 50% less inventory. • Met corporate objective to increase AUR 25% by introducing statement pieces. From April 2013 to February 2014 (11 months) Bulington, NJ and New York, NYDirector of Merchandise Buyer: Home Décor and Decorative Accessories @ Cracker Barrel Developed, sourced, negotiated and purchased Home Fragrances, Home Décor, Housewares, Table Top, Quilts (textiles) and Gifts both exclusive and branded. Managed a 4-person merchandising team. Captained and directed 15 Home Decor and Gift Themes per year. Volume totaled $83M annually. Increased sales by 15%, +$12M. Accomplished goal of increasing product sales to align with restaurant traffic. • Significantly expanded product sourcing including strategic partnerships with vendors to import product and initiating product development. • Initiated and executed 15 distinct themes annually. • Traveled internationally to Hong Kong, China and India for product development. • Presented 15 annual line reviews, implementing Visual Drivers, Volume Drivers and Unit Drivers as key strategies to accomplish sales and margin goals. • Leveraged licensed art to accomplish overall cohesive theme appearance.• Developed financial goals at the department/class level. • Collaborated with celebrities including Alan Jackson and Wynonna Judd to develop brands inspired by the celebrity’s preferences → Accomplishments• Grew home fragrance business into 35% of overall sales volume of $8M.• Established and grew a $9M quilt business by developing exclusive, affordable designs. • Introduced exclusive private label brands in Fragrances, Quilts, Themes and Table Top resulting in 55% of overall sales volume. • Increased sales 10% by initiating regional store buying and distribution in home décor themes and quilts. • Worked with Planning to design an efficient tool for Style Outs and Line Reviews. • Strategic improvements resulted in store appealing to a younger demographic of women and families. From January 2009 to October 2012 (3 years 10 months) Lebanon, TNVice President Retail Outlet @ Etienne Aigner AG Directed all aspects of a 50 door retail outlet chain with $50M in annual sales in footwear, handbags, small leather goods and accessories. Reported to CEO. Directed a 250-person store staff through the Director of Stores and 5 District Managers. Managed merchandising team to develop product. Traveled to Asia for product development and quality control. • With the Director of Operations, negotiated leases on retail locations; designed innovative floor layouts. • Created store budgets and sales goals with input from the CFO and Director of Stores. Developed strategic marketing objectives with the VP of Marketing. → Accomplishment• Sold excess inventory at 20% over profit expectations. From January 2005 to December 2005 (1 year) Greater New York City AreaDirector of Product Development and Sales @ Romar & Haddad Accessories Managed merchandising, design and $35M in annual sales of fashion accessoriesDirected a 10-person design team and Far East sourcing facilities in merchandising and product development of private label and branded accessories, including Levi's, Dockers, Lucky Brand, Avirex, Danskin Girls, Harley Davidson, and major league teams (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL). → Accomplishments• Increased overall volume by $3M by developing, sourcing and producing new categories. • Grew sales an additional $3M by expanding into Wal-mart, Target, J.C. Penney, Sears, Federated Department stores. From January 2002 to January 2005 (3 years 1 month) New York, NYDirector of Product Development and Sales @ Toby N.Y.C. Corp. Merchandised and produced private label ladies and children’s lines of accessories and handbags, with sales averaging $15M annually. Traveled to Far East sourcing factories, negotiated prices and oversaw quality control.• Increased sales $2.5M by extending the brand into additional markets with private label programs. From January 2001 to January 2002 (1 year 1 month) Greater New York City AreaDivision Head of New Business: Hair Accessories, Seasonal Gift Accessories and Girl's Room Acc. @ Accessory Network Merchandised and produced all categories of a new business, Ladies' and Teens Hair & Gift accessories. Traveled to Far East to develop product, negotiate prices, and inspect production.Directed a 12-person design, merchandising, production, sales and planning team contributing $8M in annual sales. • Increased revenue $2M by expanding brand into a new holiday line of hair, jewelry and novelty gifts. From January 2000 to January 2001 (1 year 1 month) Greater New York City AreaSenior Buyer Fashion Accessories: Ladies/Girls 4-14, Cold Weather Acc., Ladies/Children's/Men's @ Kmart Corporation Developed the Women’s Fashion Accessories Department as a coordinated statement of brands, merchandised to enhance the overall image of Kmart Women’s & Children’s RTW.Sourced directly from Far East. Managed a 9-person merchandising and planning team, with sales totaling $170M annually. Procured and managed 1500 SKUs annually in 9 categories. Sourced and developed 300 SKUs from the Far East. • Delivered highest profit margin in the division 2 consecutive years at over 45%, a 20% increase. From January 1996 to December 2000 (5 years) Troy, MISenior Buyer: Ladies Accessories, Sunglasses, Handbags and Backpacks @ Caldor Responsible for $36M annually. Formulated seasonal business strategies to achieve sales goals. Cultivated strong vendor relationships resulting in exclusivity of product for private brands.→ Accomplishment• Achieved $5M in incremental sales per year by developing several main aisle and front register programs. • Upgraded assortments and improved presentation through the development of new fixtures and visual aids. From January 1991 to January 1996 (5 years 1 month) Norwalk, CT