Cara Costa
Creative Visionary | Merchant-Minded Product & Sales Leader | Expert in Consumer Behavior, Value Strategy & Mass Retail Growth
- Role
- Executive Vice President - Marketing at Horizon Group USA
- Location
- Warren, NJ, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Cara Costa
Product-first. Retail-obsessed. Consumer-driven. With 25+ years of experience as a…
Experience
Executive Vice President - Marketing
Sep 2009 — Present
Executive leader responsible for driving merchandising strategy, product innovation, and direct sales across mass and value retail. With a passion for consumer behavior and a deep understanding of the impulse consumer mindset, I lead the development of trend-forward, high-turn assortments that deliver impact at shelf and profitability to the bottom line.Key Contributions- Accountable for product and sales success at Target, Walmart, and Dollar General- Built thousands of SKUs across core categories contributing to billions in retail sales- Drove AI-powered creative systems and virtual development workflows- Led line planning, pricing, sourcing, and sell-in execution- Mentored cross-functional teams, scaling leadership and retail relevance
Education
Fashion Institute of Technology
BFA, Toy Design, Advertising & Graphic Design
1996 — 2000
Skills
- Sales
- Product Design
- Key Account Sales
- Brand Development
- Retail
- Retail Analysis
- Plannning
- Product Management
- Management
- Team Building
- Product Development
- Concept Development
- Marketing
- Customer Insight
- Strategic Planning
- Product Marketing
- Merchandising
- Line Planning
- Forecasting
- Advertising
- Income Statement
- Sales Management
- Toys
- Toy Design
- Licensing Leadership
- Merchandising Strategies
- P
- Leadership
- Consumer Products
- New Business Development
- Brand Management
- Cross-Functional Team Leadership
- Packaging
- Marketing Strategy
- Competitive Analysis
- Creative Direction
- Team Construction
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