Andrew Thompson: Senior Professional, Account Management - Global Footwear Sourcing & Development in Ho Chi Minh City , 65

Immediately jumped in to handle the development of 26 styles consisting of both cleated and non-cleated sport specific footwear including baseball, football, volleyball and slides that account for $37 million in revenue. Responsible for the development of promo footwear for Tier 1 MLB assets.

Responsible for development, cost margin analysis, vendor relations, collaboration with international counter parts, travel arrangements, budget monitoring and process improvement. Led a team to bring sampling in house at our Lighthouse facility where the team (developers, designers, product line managers) could make physical samples themselves. This will reduce overall total sampling lead time during a season by 19 days. Exceeded house margin for products developed in 4 of 6 seasons. For the two seasons where margin was not hit I still achieved a margin improvement by over 85+ basis points and the margin was missed by merely 10 basis points. Developed 7 of the top 10 margin styles for all of accessories for SS19. Developed 2 of the top 10 styles by revenue and volume for all of accessories in SS19 and FW19. Categories that I was responsible for developing accounted for 83% ($149 million) of the total headwear business and revenue. Works collaboratively on a daily basis with foreign and domestic vendors as well as development counterparts in Asia. Develop headwear across all categories/end uses for a business that grew from $115 to $180 million from 2016-2018. Source and develop trims in addition to headwear to ensure the best quality products while still meeting the department and company margin targets. Collaborate with product line managers and designers on product designs, sales data and development progress as it relates to the product calendar and milestones. Cost engineering efforts for SS18 season return savings just shy of $500,000 leading to an increase above our house margin target. Headed initiatives on vendor alignment, quality assurance, communication and tech pack comment standardizations. Promoted from Assistant to Technical Developer in February of 2017. Participated in the wear testing of the Gemini and Hovr footwear platforms as well as the Beta testing of the MapMyRun applications associated with these UA Record equipped models.

My decision to not exit this factory will initially save the company over half a million dollars in savings once the tariffs on China take effect. Worked onsite at a headwear factory to ensure that they had the support needed to facilitate a smooth transition with the ramp up in production combined with the on-boarding of a new production coordinator and U.A. account manager. Spent one week in our Guangzhou office to train and learn more about the manufacturing and production side of the business and bring that knowledge back to the U.S. team. Worked with the factory on correcting issues related to manufacturing excellence (blocking, fit and consistency). I also sought to learn the factory's history and capabilities to better plan allocation to their strengths.

Analyzed apparel and footwear AR supply chains to ensure accounts are ordering to forecast in order to maximize fill rates. Managed the allocation and delivery process of an order bank worth increase from $2 to $4 billion, maximizing dollars and units shipped.