Christopher M. Schaefer

Experience

• 

  The Buckle, Inc.

  Aug 1994 - Jan 2001

  Store Manager
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  Neiman Marcus Group

  Mar 2001 - May 2013

  Responsible for the Women’s Shoes Advanced Collection buying office, partnering with DMM / Merchant to secure the best customer experience through a targeted assortment by market. Managed a team of planners in vendor negotiations, planning & allocations, forecasting tools and theory, product assortment & store execution concepts. Worked with buyers and DMM to maximize profitability at a department/vendor level & with cross business area planning managers in forming top line sales goals. Identified stores that have not been bought to their trend and work with assistants to adjust stock levels. Managed open to buy within the buying office and division. Worked with buying team in selection and flow of merchandise to maximize sales and GMROI of the overall business. Created the process for store transfers to maximize sell off and gross margin. Create a quarterly “basics” program for buyers and replenishment to execute. Worked with the American Designer Handbag Collection, and European Designer / Trend Collection buying offices worth an annual sales volume of $160M. Show less Responsible for the Designer Jewelry Trend Timepiece & Semi Precious buying offices worth an annual sales volume of $61M consisting of over 70 vendors. Supervised three merchandise planners in product allocation, replenishment, department / location plans and projections, vendor negotiations, planning theory, and other projects for the buyer & VP. Optimized product attributes to use planning tools more effectively. Saved OTB dollars by working with distribution center on re-balancing the replenishment timepiece assortment. Worked with buyers in choosing vendors to design overall “concepts” for stores’ merchandising. Communicated and partnered with stores to insure assortments and stock levels maximize case line presentation to drive top line sales. Provided extensive analysis to DMM for critical decisions. Provided direction for vendor’s future content offering based on current strengths of the assortment to mirror the Neiman Marcus seasonal trends. Worked with senior level HR representative on the Neiman Marcus executive development program; creating materials for the course & leading groups of trainees through each 3 week project. Show less

  • Senior Merchandise Planning Women's Shoes

    Sept 2011 - May 2013

  • Senior Merchandise Planner Designer Jewelry

    Mar 2006 - Sept 2011

  • Senior Merchandise Planner Women's Sportswear

    Apr 2003 - Mar 2006

  • Assistant Buyer

    Mar 2001 - Apr 2003
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  JCPenney

  May 2013 - Nov 2013

  ECommerce Planning Manager Women's Special Sizes

  Responsible for Women’s Ecomm business, largest volume categories (Special Sizes, Juniors, and Dresses) worth approximately $150M on an annual basis. Focused on inventory liquidation while maintaining profitability. Worked with executive team on new best practices for Ecomm & Mobile. Partnered with buyers to give JCP.com line extensions in color and size offering to set us apart from the competition and build margin. Assisted in line reviews to select the best product available for JCP.com Focused merchants on product with higher IMU to drive Gross Margin. Ensured high in-stock rates on key items. Partnered with site managers to achieve a better customer experience. Show less

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  Barneys New York

  Dec 2013 - Feb 2015

  Merchandise Planning Leadership

  Responsible for the Barneys New York Women’s Shoes full line store and Ecomm business. Worked with merchants in editing assortments to secure the best customer experience through a targeted assortment by market. Worked with DMM and merchants to maximize profitability at a vendor level & assisted with negotiations on correct purchases. Identified stores that were over bought to their trend and worked with assistants & merchants to adjust stock levels to business needs. Managed open to buy within the division and reversed a multi million dollar stock overage into open receipts. Worked with buying team in selection and flow of merchandise to maximize sales and turn of the overall business. Achieved highest historical GM% rate for the Women's Shoe division. Created retail math training / classes for HR to foster training of new hires and and existing personnel. Assisted planning director and VP in planning theory and practices to the organization. Worked with IT and operations on reporting and best practices to save bottom line cost. Show less

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  Nordstrom

  Mar 2015 - Jan 2019

  Men's Buyer - Men's Sportswear, Denim, & OuterwearResponsible for the men’s sportswear and outerwear business totaling over $75Million and over 150 vendors. End of Year (EOY) volume growth of 35% to Last Year (LY), Gross Margin (GM) rate increase 230 basis points to plan; End of Year (EOY) growth of men’s outerwear business +$4Million to plan. Over five men’s categories +20% to LY. Work closely with other verticals to present the strength of brands where possible. Partner with new resources to differentiate the assortment from competition. Consistently in market looking for new resources keeping the “good, better, best” model top ofmind to deliver the best experience for the customer. Work with buying teams across divisions on best practices to achieve company goals. Develop, train, and mentor direct reports; Designated subject matter expert for merchant & planning financial metrics. Review / Analyze site metrics to flex current and future business to surpass company goals. Responsible for Women's Handbag category for the Fall 18 season. Show less

  • Men's Buyer - Women's Handbags

    Jun 2016 - Jan 2019

  • Men's Buyer

    Mar 2015 - Jun 2016
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  Stein Mart

  Feb 2019 - Aug 2020

  Buyer - Women's Handbags

  Responsible for the women’s handbag category totaling over $40M with over 75 suppliers. Initiated “Good, Better, Best” Leather strategy, increasing sales penetration of leather from 20% to35%. Increased AUS by approximately $5 over LY. Consistently introduce new brands to make Stein Mart a destination. Reduced depth of buys and increased breadth to drive ST%, turn, and freshness of assortment. Empower planners and assistants to think outside of the box to drive business

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  Trek Bicycle

  Feb 2021 - Feb 2022

  District Buyer

  Assist and advise the District Manager with in season management of individual store and district P&L. Review and execute best source of service parts to exceed P&L metrics and meet Trek’s 24 Hour Service standard. Meet with individual stores to review current inventory, needs, wants, and best practices on liquidating aged inventory. Assist with new store openings and acquisitions

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  Lord + Taylor

  Feb 2022 - Dec 2022

  Merchant - Shoes - Women's, Men's, & Kid's

  Responsible for Lord & Taylor Women’s, Men’s, and Kid’s Shoe categories; responsible for all categories within the Aquatalia brand. Consistently in market securing new vendors for the Lord & Taylor brand. Negotiate best cost and best terms for Lord & Taylor. Mentor, develop and train assistant buyers and planner.

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  At Home Group Inc.

  Feb 2023 - now

  Senior Merchandise Planner - Wall Decor