Anne Costello

About Anne Costello

Hi, I am Anne! I am a detail-oriented and results-driven professional with extensive…

Experience

1. Buyer

   Payless

   Mar 2007 — Present

   During my role over here, I create financial plans, coordinate anticipated product life cycles, and evaluate promotional and exit strategies to streamline financial operations. Moreover, I orchestrate marketing efforts including critical features and promotions across various channels and regions/countries. In addition to this, I collaborate with global, cross-cultural, and cross-functional teams for implementing strategic initiatives to manage inventory, analyze sales data, and maximize sales potential. I also initialize product development process in coordination with internal product development team and external vendors to create compelling assortments for all channels. Furthermore, I oversee and manage associate and assistant buyers and facilitate onboarding and training of peers. I also utilize critical merchant tools to promote business services including OTB. One of my key tasks is to design additional tools to assist business management in Excel such as bottom-up sales planning tool, assortment planning tool, and various sales recaps. Some of my key contributions during this tenure include: Devised and implemented seasonal strategies to optimize sales and margin performance, fostering team alignment and delivering presentations to senior leadership. Drove consistent growth of website business with a yearly increase of +25% in sales from ship-from-store (SFS) orders. Formalized new product lines, such as leggings and slipper socks, generating annual sales of $3M and $1.5M, respectively. Introduced new business of slippers and expanded fixtures of wallets, driving additional revenue of $5M and $6M in sales. Renegotiated shoe care costs, producing an additional revenue of over $500K in annual margin.

Education

• The University of Kansas

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Secondary Education and Teaching

• The University of Kansas

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Psychology

Skills

• Planograms
• Open to Buy Management
• Microsoft Office
• Direct Marketing
• Microsoft Word
• Marketing
• Microsoft Excel
• Management
• Outlook
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Social Media
• Team Building
• Driving Results
• Retail Buying
• Apparel
• Fashion
• Visual Merchandising
• Fashion Buying
• Store Management
• Email Marketing
• Shoes
• Merchandising
• E-Commerce
• Private Label
• Leadership
• Online Marketing
• Multi-Channel Retail
• Inventory Management
• Trend
• Retail
• Product Development
• Trend Analysis
• Assortment
• Strategic Planning
• Time Management
• Handbags
• Product Assortment Planning
• Marketing Strategy
• Footwear
• Inventory Control