Yevgeniya Yushkova: Apparel Product Line Director in Los Angeles, CA

Fulfilled a critical role driving revenue for the largest campus store operator in North America, with a focus on developing seasonal merchandising plans for private label apparel within Omni-Channel retail operations in the Men’s, Women’s, Accessories, and headwear categories. Led concept, design, and development of the Fall Rush brand of collegiate-licensed apparel, including all brand identity across neck labels, hang tags, packaging, and finishes. Retained as a valued contributor with innovative perspectives on apparel assortments, transforming traditional styles into new and exciting products that excite customers with an average sell-through rate of 68% YTD and 65% margin. • Within two years, developed a private label brand forecasted to generate $80M by 2026, available through online channels and in 1200 campus retail stores. • Built a supply chain to support complex retail model for the brand, including apparel and consumer goods products, fabrics, and trims, establishing alternate suppliers to avoid disruptions in the supply chain. Negotiated Net 60 terms with suppliers to optimize cash flow. • Achieved rapid production turnaround time and developed an art template system enabling production artists to scale with 95% accuracy, an increase from 40%. • Launched the Shirt Bar in campus stores, empowering customers to customize products within 30 seconds per item securing up to 72% margin and expanding assortment to over 50,000 possible variations using with minimal inventory commitments and very little retail space. Sell through exceeds 70%. • Established the assortment and product setup for the Direct Ship Vendor program to support e-Commerce operations, enabling the company to sell and deliver product using Print on Demand with zero inventory commitments and 24 hour order turnaround time. • Assisted in the implementation of an NGC PLM system, securing an award for accelerated implementation.

Led vision, strategy, and execution for e-Commerce business development and operations as a consultant for this provider of world-class solutions for top fashion and beauty influencers as well as celebrities in the digital, film and television industries. Collaborated with teams and stakeholders across the organization to build strategies to drive growth, minimize risk, and satisfy performance benchmarks. Recruited to streamline operations, seasonal planning and buying, and production. Built a 10-person team. • Served as the architect of a roadmap to govern business development and operations within a start-up environment. • Innovated supply chain and development processes to achieve brand launch, product delivery, and shipping targets. • Assumed a hands-on role managing the e-Commerce retail operations of some of the top influencers in the nation. • Led negotiations of the terms of investment and partnership deals, reconciling risk and reward. • Engaged in cost-benefit analysis, and introduced cost containment initiatives forecasted to achieve 15% savings. • Successfully increased the conversion rate from 1.5% to 10% while sustaining profit targets through the analysis of sales, traffic, and consumer behaviors, leading to lower cart abandonment rates.

Hired in an interim short-term contract role to manage private label brand product design and branding under the Versona Brand for 66 locations of this retailer of women's fashions and accessories, navigating concept and delivery to achieve a forecasted $1.6M in budget savings annually. Established the entire Design department. Led a team of three direct reports. • Achieved double-digit sales increases in one quarter by redefining brand identity and a target market. Additionally, developed cost and budget strategies to lower expenses by 4%. • Drove internal redesign of the Versona assortment under a private label brand in three weeks, well ahead of the projected six-month target. • Based on a forecasted $278M in Versona Brand sales, this will improve average product margins from 50% to 70%, resulting in $5M in additional profit. • Worked with product development team leaders to devise seasonal product calendars for multiple categories. • Trained the Merchandise, Buying, and Design teams to build awareness of the product and product development processes; additionally, assembled a strong design team delivering results under aggressive deadlines.

Pioneered the launch and continued management of this international company meeting the luxury brand needs of high-end boutique stores and large department stores, building a strong customer base in Asia. Executed corporate finance responsibilities, including budget administration, financial statements, and forecasts. Executed marketing to increase brand awareness in the United States and Asia. Sold the Brand at a profit after four years. • Leveraged a presence on Amazon and other e-Commerce sites to bolster online revenue by 250%. Defined pathways for B2B and B2C channels and led outreach to buyers and other stakeholders. • Led the sourcing and qualification of vendors and production partners; managed material and production costs to maintain 85% product margins for all products. • Expanded staff from two to 25 professionals and created a customer base of 35 accounts. Launched an intern program to train the next generation of designers.

Increased annual volume from $1.5 million wholesale to over $8 million by leading contemporary and missy collections design, development, and production. Developed, pitched and directed all private label projects with Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy's, Nordstrom Rack, Dillard's T.J.Maxx , Marshalls, Target, Ross and other specialty/ boutiques. Managed the design process from conception through production hand-off for over 250 styles quarterly. • Recruited, developed and managed staff based on the company needs to maintain projected growth from 10 people operations to a Design and Product Development teams of total 30+ employees • Consistently improved and met target margins of 65% and up by managing sales and margin dollar performance for domestic and imported products. Sourced, identified and negotiated fabrics, trims, outsourced labor. Oversaw garment costing and composed BOM’s • Achieved four to six week production turnaround time instead of three months of industry standard by sourcing and building a production strategy with local factories aligned with product and material commitments • Developed a size/fit standard for the Brand to assure consistency of the product fit, which led to a consistent growth of a long-term clientele and consumer following. Reviewed lab dips, strike offs, fit/proto sample, P.P. and production samples. Developed sales and production samples present at seasonal kick-offs, sales meetings, design reviews • Saved over 30% of the marketing budget by creating a complete branding package, including: brand identity, logo, stationery, website and marketing materials, used in over 23 trade shows • Merchandised the line the to ensure objectives around product newness, breadth of assortment and financials are met