APARNA SUDHAKARAN
Category Manager
Summary
Pro-active and achievement oriented E-Commerce & Retail professional with experience across various roles ranging from category management, product development & brand management. Proficient in leading teams and building brands keeping gaps and opportunities in mind to bring out innovative and commercially successful range. Working with cross-functional teams like marketing, costing, store staff and buying has given me strong understanding of customer profile. Passionate for creating something unique and special.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Category Manager - Men's Apparel
Snapdeal
03.2024 - Current
- Market Analysis : We started with competition benchmarking in terms of Pricing & Collection. Benchmarked category performance against industry standards, identifying areas for improvement and implementing targeted initiatives.
- Diverse Collection : Managed a diverse portfolio of products, ensuring optimal mix between high-margin items and cost-effective options for customers. Working with brands such as VIP, Lux, Dollar, Puma, Jockey to name a few.
- Growth Driver : Spearheaded new product introduction processes from ideation through commercialization, delivering innovative solutions that drove category growth. We have introduced Seasonal Collections in the latest trends.
Category Manager - Jewellery
Snapdeal
09.2023 - 03.2024
- Industry Trends : Apart from usual changes in industry trends and adapting our collections to stay relevant, I was also in charge of strategic projects such as the "Ram Mandir" collection. We created a whole range around this theme which was a great success.
- Strengthen the Core : Snapdeal's core is Tier 3 customers, who need cost effective jewellery in the latest trends and great prices. We focused our effort and strategy to maximise capturing this market.
- Onboarding Marquee Logos : Onboarded 2 marquee logos (MMTC & Voila) to ensure that we cater to the needs during Diwali (Silver Coins) and Festival Collections (Diwali, Christmas etc)
- Leveraging Insights : Implemented data-driven pricing strategies to maximize profit margins while remaining competitive in the marketplace.
- Vendor Delight : Enhanced supplier relationships through regular communication and collaborative problem-solving efforts.
Founder & Artist, First-time Mother
Karkhaana- The Art Studio
02.2021 - Current
- Art studio catering to custom-made paintings.
- Conducted 50 successful Mandala Art Therapy workshops.
- Opportunity to introduce people to mindfulness and importance of mental health
- Successful exhibitions at commercial places to present artworks
- Studied market to determine optimal pricing of goods and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
- Paid attention to detail while completing assignments.
- Applied effective time management techniques to meet tight deadlines.
Category Manager- Bata India Ltd.
Brand- Weinbrenner
01.2020 - 02.2021
- Brand management
- Building brand strategy to educate customer about Bata's outdoor brand
- Leading team of designer and developer to build a commercially successful range keeping in mind current gaps, costs and margins
- Working closely with global brand managers to implement global trends and marketing teams to run brand campaigns
- Implementing smooth handovers to production teams with commercialization
- Identifying best sellers and non performing articles
- Visited supplier offices and plants to investigate facilities and capacity to meet quality requirements, specifications and delivery dates.
Asst. Category Manager- Bata India Ltd.
Brand- North Star
09.2017 - 12.2019
- Building brand strategy to bring focus on the youth brand of Bata
- Working closely with marketing teams to run successful brand campaigns and research
- Leading a team of designer and developer to build a commercially successful range keeping in mind costs and margins
- Gained strong leadership skills by managing projects from start to finish.
Product Developer - Bata India Ltd
Retail and Wholesale Concepts
02.2014 - 08.2017
- Design and development of innovative and commercially successful seasonal range (Men & ladies)
- Achieving improvements in the current collection - Quality, comfort & aesthetics
- Identifying new product opportunities
- Working closely with category buyers to identify gaps and requirements
- Price point target achievement
- Commercialization of to be launched products
- Competition study and market research
Project Engineer
Wipro Technologies
06.2010 - 08.2012
- End to end vendor management for project
- Provided training to internal stake holders
- POC for project in our Greater Noida office working closely with the client
Education
Master of Science - Creative Design (CAD/CAM)
Footwear Design And Development Institute
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 08.2012 - 2014.06
Bachelor of Science - B.Tech (Computer Science)
Amity University
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 08.2006 - 2010.05
Skills
Vendor Management
Brand building
Problem solving
Negotiation skills
Project Management
Skills
Vendor Management
Brand building
Problem solving
Negotiation skills
Project Management
Timeline
Category Manager - Men's Apparel
Snapdeal
03.2024 - Current
Category Manager - Jewellery
Snapdeal
09.2023 - 03.2024
Founder & Artist, First-time Mother
Karkhaana- The Art Studio
02.2021 - Current
Category Manager- Bata India Ltd.
Brand- Weinbrenner
01.2020 - 02.2021
Asst. Category Manager- Bata India Ltd.
Brand- North Star
09.2017 - 12.2019
Product Developer - Bata India Ltd
Retail and Wholesale Concepts
02.2014 - 08.2017
Master of Science - Creative Design (CAD/CAM)
Footwear Design And Development Institute
08.2012 - 2014.06
Project Engineer
Wipro Technologies
06.2010 - 08.2012
Bachelor of Science - B.Tech (Computer Science)
Amity University
08.2006 - 2010.05
Similar Profiles
Sourav ChakrabortySourav Chakraborty
Deputy Manager (Seller Operations & Financial Monetization) at SnapdealDeputy Manager (Seller Operations & Financial Monetization) at Snapdeal
Jai Bhan ThapaJai Bhan Thapa
Customer Care Executive at SnapdealCustomer Care Executive at Snapdeal
ANURAG KULHARIANURAG KULHARI
Software Engineer at SnapdealSoftware Engineer at Snapdeal