susan smith: Owner/Founder in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

SeaStar Design is a boutique consulting agency bringing a personal, thoughtful, and holistic approach to navigating the fast paced and extremely nuanced fashion industry. My passion is helping small and growing businesses scale their footprint to flourish and reach their full potential, with a special focus on ethical manufacturing and artisan design. Excellent and valued global relationships across all tiers of distribution and categories. Current and past clients/projects include RG Barry- FLAT SOCKS, Natural Life, AVILA Inspired, cinda b, Scout & Molly’s, and FinchBerry Soapery, among others. Highlights of successful projects include: -Soliciting, launching, and executing major programs of various scale and distribution channels including, but not limited to: Kohl’s, Dillard’s, QVC, SPCA, Fab Fit Fun, Ulta, and Good Morning America, - Revenue increase directly from these initiatives average triple digits YOY with commiserate margin increases. -Establishing Open to Buy Process and Procedures for improved financial and inventory efficiency, -Complete reorganizations from a rep based sale representation to in house distribution teams, while increasing top line revenue growth and increasing margins through commission reductions, -Establishing and implementing measurable omni channel marketing and product development calendars resulting in increased efficiencies on less head count, -Sourcing and implementing complete EDI process from inception through shipment.

Recruited to position in this 94- year old women’s accessory brand that was undergoing a turnaround and rebranding. Established Product Development practices, programs, and infrastructure that led to improved internal accountability and efficiency, while also developing measures to better collaboration with manufacturing partners. ? Direct profit and loss responsibility for the global Echo Branded heritage business, including neckwear (scarves and wraps), cold weather accessories, cut and sew gloves, handbags, swimwear, cover ups, hats, and apparel/outerwear that hangs on the accessory floor ? Crafted and launched cross category and seasonal product development calendar. Reduced development skus by over 20% while improving adoption rate by 35%. Built and implemented new seasonal merchandise plan structure, ensuring margin delivery and top-line growth. Increased Cold weather and Glove margins by over 8 basis points in first development season. ? Architected global sourcing and product development initiatives with key vendors across all tiers of distribution, while also continuously vetting potential new partners. Team leader of India sourcing task force to evaluate and develop sourcing strategy for entire company. ? Redesigned and introduced performance expectations for the Echo division, collaborating with Human Resources. Coached and managed cross- functional team members, including sourcing, wholesale planning/production, design, product management, and product development.