Kristin LeClair

Experience

• 

  Oriental Trading Company

  Nov 2004 - Dec 2010

  • Selected as one of the first candidates to pilot the Associate level buyer in training program• Partnered with product development to source new items and grow assortment in categories• Manage import item level placement on orientaltrading.com as well as paginate catalogs • Merchandised the Wedding Catalog pagination along with buyer and inventory planning support to highlight key best selling and new items and themes• Collaborated with site and email marketing teams• Presented catalog sales results post mortem to cross functional team including planning, marketing, buyers and executives •Vendor relationship management through pricing and order quantity negotiations•Developed product assortment plans and monitored product life cycle for catalogs and dot com•Seasonal category planning and responsible for coordination of new item import ship and receive dates • Assist multiple buyers in vendor communications regarding item costs, order quantities, new item import sample pre-production approval

  • Associate Buyer Basic Supplies

    Jul 2009 - Dec 2010

  • Assistant Brand Merchant Wedding

    Dec 2008 - Jun 2009

  • Assistant Buyer Costumes and Accessories

    Mar 2005 - Dec 2008

  • Merchandise Assistant Toys

    Nov 2004 - Mar 2005
• 

  Pamida

  Dec 2010 - Jun 2012

  Assistant Category Manager Beauty Aids and Candy

  • Assisted buyer in item level selections to set store modular and setting seasonal planogram• Tracked ad support money for weekly circular • Partnered with marketing to promote vendor sponsored promotions on weekly ad cadence• Planned item level allocation and pushed to stores based on demand and seasonal foot traffic

• 

  Hayneedle, Inc.

  Jun 2012 - May 2017

  • Increased inventory turn on overstocked category through successfully returned aged goods• Partnered with forecasting and inventory demand planning to monitor weeks of supply • Drove sales increases through partnering with key suppliers and strategically planning site promotions • Manage yearly promotional strategy calendar across 300 plus vendors and 25 categories• Team captain coordinated with customer marketing on daily and monthly email strategy send for all buyers brand and key item placements• Manage coop ad funding programs to help offset promotional margin

  • Buyer Nursery Furniture and Baby Gear

    Sept 2014 - May 2017

  • Associate Buyer Housewares

    Jun 2012 - Sept 2014
• 

  Walmart eCommerce

  Jan 2017 - May 2018

  • Managed cost of goods sold in 5 categories across hayneedle.com, walmart.com, jet.com• Monitored sales and margin to drive profit while managing inventory turn• Collaborated with customer marketing and site merchandise teams across three channels to promote items and brands• Sourced new vendors and products • Increased category sales over 55% from previous year and expanded brand portfolio with 20 plus suppliers• Optimized skus and manage item level placement to increase conversion• Monitored sales and grow assortment across hayneedle.com, walmart.com, jet.com platforms • Competitive analysis and product development strategy created by quarter

  • Category Manager Outdoor Hearth

    Jan 2018 - May 2018

  • Category Manager Kitchen Tools & Gadgets and Soft Kitchen

    Jan 2017 - Dec 2017
• 

  Mutual of Omaha

  Jul 2018 - now

  • Lead and collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop and execute product marketing campaigns• Prepare project-related documents such as meeting agendas, marketing campaign timelines and project deadlines• Outline and prioritize work and actively communicate deliverables and status timelines• Manage internal client relationships and help strategize promotions • Built successful relationships with internal partners and stakeholders and executed marketing plans and initiatives• Coordinated and planned marketing strategies from start to finish with results driven goals• Wrote creative briefs for content creation to align with brand strategy • Collaborate with external ad agency on campaign setup, creative asset project management and campaign optimization • Assist content marketing team with asset approval from compliance • Manage digital media cost and fees associated with external ad agencies and platforms• Monitor conversion and cost per clicks to budget on lead generation campaigns• Perform monthly campaign optimizations and target key audiences

  • Manager Account Management

    Dec 2024 - now

  • Senior Account Manager

    Oct 2020 - Jan 2025

  • Marketing Account Manager

    Sept 2019 - Oct 2020

  • Digital Media Project Coordinator

    Jul 2018 - Aug 2019