Shweta Chauhan

Senior Merchandiser in The Cortefiel Group, currently known as Tendam) is one of Europe's leading fashion retailers operating in the specialized chain segment.

The Group is present in 79 countries with 2,056 points of sale – 1,462 directly operated stores and 594 franchises.

It is made up of four own brands: Cortefiel, Springfield, Women' Secret, Pedro del Hierro, Hoss Intropia and an outlet chain: Fifty Factory.

Each brand has its own design team as well as sales and management structure.

They share the administration, finance, technology, expansion and sourcing and human resource divisions, as well as other corporate functions, based at the central offices in Madrid.

The Group has a network of international buying offices in Spain, Hong Kong and India. I am based in Gurgaon Liaison Office.

• I take care of 3 brands here: Cortefiel, Pedro del Hierro & Fifty Factory, categories follow like Bags, Wallets, Belts, Card Holder, Men Shoes, Socks, Men PJ sets, Women Apparels (Ladies- Knits/Wovens).

Key Responsibilities:

• Fosters an environment of collaboration and builds mutually beneficial relationships between all members of the product teams; includes Suppliers, buying team and designing team.
• Development of the vendors as per the guidelines decided by the Company’s management.
• Making sure the selection of the vendors meets the criterion of social & legal compliance.
• Close coordination with suppliers, as per TNA.
• Making the standard of operating procedures to get the range & Development Forecast on time.
• Analyse the development capacity build up & make sure that Suppliers are ready for the growth projections given by the companies.
• Proto/conventional samples/Fit samples/PP on time submission, follow-ups.
• Participate in production trials of new articles.
• Prepare Timeline calendar project/product specific and update on the same weekly.
• No Compromise on Samples Quality.
• Regular visits to factories and cross check product materials against specs.
• Completely responsible from getting technical sheets received from Designers to make factory to deliver the production on time to the destinations.
• Established strong vendor relationships to maintain and support business.

Senior Product Merchandiser in a start-up named D-Code Sales based in New Delhi.

• Responsible for new product development as per requirement.
• Building a portfolio of small accessories for business.
• Creates an environment where the entire product team is dedicated to executing excellence and continuous improvement.
• Formal proposal and presentation management.
• Researching new types of business/products/services with an emphasis on identifying gaps (existing and/or expected) in the mitigation of needs of potential clients (existing and/or new ones).
• Continually developing technical products.
• Following T & A of new categories from design to market
• Working with cross functional team to update the status of various categories and escalate in case of deviation
• Implementation of Product concept working closely with the vendors.

Designer/Product Developer/Merchandiser in BATA INDIA LTD, in Gurgaon, later promoted as a Buyer-Famous Brands.

Handled Major Categories independently like Handbags, Belts, Wallets, Footwear, Socks, Sunglasses, Apparels, Scarves.

Position Summary:

Leads all operations throughout the development & commercialization, and production process in close collaboration with materials, costing and other support functions of the assigned product team.

Sourcing/Vendor development/Management- Development of the vendors as per the guidelines decided by the Company’s management.

Working collaboratively with suppliers to optimize value / cost ratio

Key Responsibilities:

• Fosters an environment of collaboration, and builds mutually beneficial relationships between all members of the product teams; includes HQ, Suppliers & buyers.
• Emphasizes quality as the top priority.
• Balances customer expectations in terms of quality, delivery & cost, with a sense of urgency to resolving issues completely.
• Creates an environment where the entire product team is dedicated to executing excellence and continuous improvement.
• Innovation is relentlessly pursued.
• Inspires team to look beyond the obvious to find creative solutions to problems.
• Challenges product team to be at the leading edge of new technologies and processes.

Operations:

• Working with the Merchandising and the production teams to set the direction and create mutually agreed upon roles, responsibilities, accountabilities, goals and objectives that are clear and understood.
• Understands and implements all Bata policies pertaining to the sourcing of products.
• Provides a balanced workload for the team; assigns projects for each member that challenges their abilities and helps improve their skill set.
• Provides progress reports that are distributed in a timely manner and helps to maintain and improve the reporting process.
• Keeps commitments and is responsible to all members of the product process and is able to go beyond their basic responsibilities in order to satisfy their customers’ needs.
• Is a strong proponent of improving the product transfer process so that the transfer of a product from one factory to the next can happen within minimal or no delay in production timing.

Professional Achievement:

Received performance trophy for “Best Employee of the Year”.

Worked as a Merchandiser/Designer in MNC, into knitting section (Socks) - handled distribution business (brand) of Levis and adidas, Handled private label business of Adidas, Bharti wal-mart etc, Belmonte, Shopper's Stop, Fruit of the Loom, & global business of Marks & Spencer etc.

Worked as a Designer cum Merchandiser- Handled Major Categories independently like, Handbags (Men’s/Ladies), Belts (Men’s/Ladies), Wallets (Men’s/Ladies), small Leather Goods. Planned project concepts by researching and studying information.