maria adaimy: in Los Angeles, CA

Directed/oversaw the performance of 2 Assistant Buyers on all buying/planning, pricing markdowns, promotions, & merchandising. Ordered new product, maintained current/ongoing product inventory, and handled vendor negotiations for cost savings & brand maintenance in a changing environment with new fashion trends. Performed/reviewed sales analysis and forecasting tools to determine market conditions & trade partner resources, incorporated purchasing strategies based on projections and maximized the brand's future performance via trends research. Managed budget/total spend, handling sourcing/price negotiations, order writing, annual contracts, quality, & vendor management. Monitored weekly performance of vendors and key items, determining reorder & markdown merchandise. Tracked movement of merchandise online and priced each style to drive sales and increase margins, managed plans on a quarterly basis. • Carefully selected/purchased appropriate products for merchandising, using data analysis and sales performance metrics to determine and plan the best categories; managing all special buys for outerwear and specialty brands: USPA, CHAPS, and Dickies. • Handled assortment buying and negotiated cost-effective terms for both Off-price and in line goods (e.g. footwear, accessories, apparel) to result in YOY (year-over-year) growth, successfully increased gross margin by 5 percentage points and achieved profit goals. • Conducted purchase orders, inventory analysis, selection/categorization, sales planning, & OTB inventory planning/merchandise management; increased product flow & sales growth via inventory management and turn/gross margin plans for financial operations. ZAPPOS, INC./6PM Las Vegas, Nevada 8/2015 - 4/2019 Senior Buyer - • Facilitated communications and demonstrated strong negotiation skills with vendors/suppliers, traveled to market and trade shows; represented the company and stayed abreast of the latest fashion industry/market trends and competitive shoe & clothing marketplace. • Achieved 15% below budget with limited resources; focusing on efficiency to increase YoY profitability (80%) & sales (20%) for Zappos. • Turned Street Footwear Department around in 2016, increasing sales volume by $3M, and gross margin by 5 percentage points; turned on a 7.1 in 2016 vs. 3.56 in 2015. • Demonstrated skills in contract/vendors negotiations, obtaining the best prices for name brand merchandise such as Puma and Converse. • Changed price structure to be aligned with off-price business, providing a customer-centric strategy based on experience; instituted price value structure to differentiate between $12.99, $14.99, & $19.99; in addition, increased Net Profit Product Unit (PPU) $2.50. • Hired as a Buyer 1, quickly promoted within 10 months to Buyer 2, due to performance excellence & industry/fashion trend knowledge.

Purchased all buys for Junior Dress Division, managed merchandise buying for Junior's Apparel and Young Contemporary; including off-price and in-line goods. Conducted quality inspections for fit and TOP samples; accountable for engaging new vendors and brand partners. • Successfully opened up 100 new vendors and generated revenue growth and profitability by developing lucrative new accounts. • Expanded OTB from $8M in 2014 to $20M in 2015 by driving sales and surpassing plan initial markup, GM%, and turn; successfully increased GM% by 3 percentage points.

Purchased all buys for Junior's Division, managed merchandise buying for Junior's Apparel and Young Contemporary for in-line goods. Purchased for key accounts: Macy's Junior, Macy's Impulse, macys.com, and Sears Canada; coupled with accountability for managing OTB's. • Achieved and increased projected sales by 30%, recommended/implemented placement of merchandise in all stores and directed innovative floor layout of fixtures for visual merchandising.

Purchased all special buys for Junior Top Division with accountability for achieving planned sales projections. • Increased Woven Tops GM by 25 percentage points in 2011, and an additional 5 percentage points in 2012 through strategic negotiations with vendors on landed cost, product quantity, and quality. • Recommended and implemented placement of merchandise in all stores; also directed floor layout of fixtures for visual merchandising.