Fashion

Lifestyle

Outdoor

Snow

Streetwear

Health & Fitness

President

Executive

Seasoned professional, branded footwear, apparel and accessory industry vet.

Strong background in merchandising, P & L, business planning, line-building, product development and sourcing.

Ultimate goal of brand president



mdL is a product design, development, sales and sourcing resource specializing in the footwear and soft goods industries.  We solve challenges taking place during the design/development stage of the product life cycle, execute through the commercialization stage and complete the production process. We work from the inside, out, providing solutions from lasts to upper materials and everything in between.  Our design LAB provides a platform for brands to achieve the best FIT, COMFORT & QUALITY in their products.  We are experts in all genders, all categories.  Our brand partnerships and supplier relationships set us apart from others and serves as the backbone of our organization.  With hundreds of years combined experience, we are bringing a “service first” mentality back to the industry.  "going the extra millimeter"

DONNIE H. BROOKS
190 F St., #6
Boston, MA 02127
617-347-0433
					dbrooks14@yahoo.com

OBJECTIVE		Earn a Product Category Lead, Sales lead or Merchandising Lead position in a fast paced, high                                                        visibility, environment with in the footwear/apparel industry. 

PROFILE	Versatile wholesale & retail professional delivering positive results in footwear/apparel Product Management/Merchandising, Product Development, Product Marketing, and Buying roles.  Proven ability to increase sales through the marketing of the right products to the appropriate distribution channels and increase brand awareness all while delivering positive results of financial goals and targets.	  		
PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCE 

			KEDS – Lexington, MA 
			2013-Present        VP Product/Design
			2012-2013	Sr. Director Product/Design
2011-2012,	Global Product Director Mens/Womens

•	Responsible for driving gross margin and Gross margin dollar profit to achieve company revenue goals.  Successfully increased GM % by 800 basis points, resulting in a 4% revenue increase in 2011.  Since then, global.  sales grew 26% in 2013, 16% in 2015 and projected 12% in 2015.  Note, International sales grew 148% in 2013 and 2014.
•	Manage P&L for global product creation team.
•	Present to ELT and Board during quatertly business reviews
•	Creates and executes strategic long range business plans and tactics to execute.  
•	Manage a cross functional  team of 16 to accomplish all goals consisting of Design, Product Developement and Product Mgt.  
•	Formulate  innovative product briefs that clearly articulate seasonal design needs.
•	Create and manage sales meeting planning/execution.  Specific areas focus around creative theme, set-up,  flow and pagination. 
•	Manage  complexity goals and ensures team stays on track to deliver.
•	Manage all Liscensee partners
•	Oversees global SMU program  with focus on supplimental needs.
•	Present seasonal vision via strategy and the product output from that strategy to the internal and external teams/customers and consumers
•	Lead quarterly Far East trips with cross-functional team to execute seasonal design direction.  Teams include costing, design and product developement and factory mangement.

TIMBERLAND – Stratham, NH 2006-2010
			Sr. Global Product Line Mgr/Merchandiser, Women’s/Kids
•	Responsible for global footwear product direction from concept to shelf with focus on achieving set financial goals and increasing product efficiency ratings.  Responsible for Men’s,  Women’s and Kid’s divisions during tenure
•	Financially responsible for creating product line that achieves Gross Margin, Revenue and Sales turn goals as set seasonally by CFO.
•	Leads  team of product development, design, merchandising,  sales and marketing both in North America and Far East
•	Quarterly Far East travel, working with factories on seasonal line direction/ creation.  All with focus on building best product at best GM, generating revenue for the brand.
•	Grew Global Kids footwear business 9% on 25% fewer sku’s in first year
•	Consistent multi seasonal growth of Women’s footwear line by 6% at a global level over 3 year period.
•	Expanded Women’s Family Footwear Channel business from $1 million to $3 million in one season by developing and executing the product strategy.
•	Create seasonal product briefs and work with design/developers to create product that achieves target Gross Margins while reducing sku counts and unnecessary sample costs.
•	Extensive internal and external presenting of seasonal concepts, direction and product lines to key accounts.  This includes all Sales meetings, Trade shows and National account visits.
•	Manage entire SMU business with niche retailers based on unique distribution channels.  Create/dev. product line for exclusive offerings based on customer base. 
•	Successfully led inaugural collaborations between Timberland and various global industry partners Tommy Girl and Atmos.
•	Develop key meeting materials including product line sheets, seasonal selling tools and competitor product educational tools.
•	Analyze own customer base and compare to that of the competition in terms of product offering and price points, with presentation responsibilities back to Sr, Mgt. Teams
•	Manage and develop direct reports:  Assistant PLM and Product Line Coordinator
•	Create pagination and content of global product line sheets and catalogs.

                                                KangaROOS – Avon, MA     2003 – 2006
			Sr. Product Line Manager                              2005-2006
			Product Line Mgr and Product Dev Mgr.    2003-2005
•	Responsible for product direction and line building for footwear, apparel, and accessories for KangaROOS Brand though initial creation of product briefs.  This included managing the commercialization process and factory/vendor price negotiations.
•	Create seasonal product briefs that creative team uses in design/product development process.  Briefs take into account past sales history, current trends and heritage of the Brand. 
•	Work with product dev. team/design to make sure product is built to hit target prices for specific distribution channels/consumers
•	Maintain year on year revenue growth of 5% in the North American market
•	Sourced materials and textiles for product
•	Manage entire SMU business with VIP retailers.  Create/dev. product line for exclusive offerings based on customer base
•	Analyze competitor business in regards to technology, price point, distribution channel, POP usage and product marketing concepts.
•	Engage in price negotiations with Far East factories to hit target margins 
•	Research and track successes, failures and opportunities of the business from season to season in order to maximize revenues.  
•	Analyze own customer base and compare to that of the competition 
•	Work across various departments to ensure design, product mgrs. and executives are all working toward same goals.
•	Educates sales team on ‘how’ to sell product and inspiration behind each design concept.
•	Manages margin reports and overall design budget for the Brand.
•	Responsible for major retailer presentations and delivery
•	Responsible for management and career development for APM
•	Creates design/ flow and content of line product line sheets/catalogs


                                           MAXWELL SHOE COMPANY – Hyde Park, MA          2002 – 2003
		              Product Merchandising Manager
•	Primary line builder responsible for product development of Anne Klein Sport product and brand growth.  Included Far East travel.
•	Create, manage and maintain brand identity through line building, and product development distribution channels.
•	Analyze competitor business in regards to technology, price point, distribution channel.
•	Research successes/failures of brand to create bank of opportunities for the business.
•	Responsible for meeting annual objectives in terms of sales and margin goals.  Doubled sales plan under my direction.
•	Wholesale buyer for AK Sport Brand with strong focus on controlling inventory levels and turn of product.  Inventory plan was lowered by 10% and turn increased about 2 points under my control. 
•	Develop and execute product strategy, including product line, positioning, advertising and promotions; taking into account manufacturing, cost and market requirements.
•	Collect and review a variety of additional market data from outside sources to ensure comprehensive knowledge of market dynamics, consumer/retailer interests and competitor strategies.
•	Manage all forecasting activities using quantitative sales and order data.  Provide that forecast information to Operations and Finance team. 
•	Perform all financial analysis and manage open to buy for 7million dollar business.
	
			REEBOK INTERNATIONAL – Canton, MA                        2000 – 2002
		              Concept Business Manager
•	Buyer of footwear and apparel for the Concept stores, brands include (Reebok, Ralph Lauren Footwear, Rockport, and Greg Norman Collection).  Bought all products sold in Reebok branded doors according to each specific business model.
•	Grew Concept Business from 500K to 3 million in 2 years.  Increased Concept doors from 1  to 3 during this time period
•	Create, manage and maintain brand identity through line building, and product offering and marketing
•	Work with prod dev team to TEST concepts through Reebok branded distribution channel under my management.
•	Track performance of product technologies within the market, through competitive analysis reports which was presented to design/marketing/product dev teams.
•	Responsible for all Marketing and Merchandising to promote and support the brand.
•	Perform all financial analysis and manage Open to Buy.
•	Responsible for developing and executing strategic business plans for flagship store business in order to grow the business with innovative market-right products.
•	Responsible for creative direction of the flagship stores.
 
 
			
			
			THE LIMITED INC., EXPRESS – Columbus, OH   1997 – 2000
			Visual Merchandise Manager (6/98 – 6/99)
•	Responsible for initial setting of the floor to promote brand awareness.
•	Maintained marketing, window displays and fixtures in the store.
•	Tracked product sales in order to assist Buyers in their initial purchases/replenishment.
•	Responsible for all new merchandise that entered the store and placement for each article.
•	Visually responsible for 5 stores surrounding HQ.

			Store & Merchandise Analyst   (3/97 – 6/98)
•	Managed the flow of goods to stores (480 total doors) based on trends and historical analysis 
•	Controlled inventory levels and markdowns to enhance and secure profitability.
•	Assist Buyers with purchasing plans based on product sales analysis.
•	Provided recommended initial purchases/replenishments to Buyers.
•	Responsible for interpreting store plans, projecting trends in merchandise sales and recapping stores weekly sales.

E

VP  Product and Design

donnie brooks is a President at metric design LAB in Boston, MA. View their experience, skills and work history on Malakye — the professional network for…

donnie brooks — President at metric design LAB — Boston, MA

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