Brian Farrell: in Grayslake, IL

Maurice Sporting Goods is a leading distributor of fishing and hunting products. The Lures category includes soft plastics, crank baits, in-line spinners, attractants, bait, attractants, spinners, spoons, and jigs. You will find these products in the hands of amatuers, professional guides and touring professionals, and are available in over 40,000 retail outlets ranging from sports specialty stores, mass, online, dealers, farm and fleet, hardware, and independent retailers. Maurice's lure category includes over 38,000 SKUs and are distributed in 4 warehouses across North America. Responsible for the category management activities for Lures/Bait/Fly category at largest fishing and hunting distributor in North America. Analyze performance and make actionable recommendations based on data analysis and vendor initiatives. Assist category manager with pricing strategies, allowances and vendor negotiations.

Led product management for both Berkley terminal tackle lines and supported global bait sub brands and related categories. The portfolio of sub-brands include Power Bait, Havoc, Gulp!, Gulp! Alive!, and Flicker crankbait lines. Highlights: Drove Pure Fishing strategic priorities with Berkley’s brand entrance into the hooks category. Developed a brand new differentiated line of hooks launching September 2015 called Fusion.

Held a variety of roles in the following SBUs - Party/Gift Wrap, Stationery & Thank You Cards, and Christmas Cards. Developed disciplined innovation plans and strategies for holiday cards, a $70 million retail category across sub-brands including Hallmark, Dayspring, Image Arts, William Arthur and Sunrise. Created three new business platforms from leading a team that built consumer insights, migration maps, and industry maps which identified white space opportunities for Hallmark. Led a $25 million consumer business in Gold Crown and Chain Drug. Responsible for chain drug thank you and note-card revision in Walgreen’s, CVS and Long’s Drug accounts, which led to a +3% increase in retail POS units and created a more profitable and productive assortment mix. Worked on the Season aisle, Season Value and catalog seasonal lines. Also worked on Kids Birthday product line which as a $120 million category driven by licensed properties. Categories included paper napkins, plates, cups, party.