Rachel Ledet

About Rachel Ledet

My footwear industry and concept-to-market leadership experience spans wholesale and vertical retail (specialty and department store private brands) for both private and public companies. I’ve led product direction, design and end-to-end development efforts, including sourcing, for owned and licensed businesses extending across all footwear categories and genders — Kids, Women’s & Men’s. I demonstrate well-balanced creative and commercial strength while bringing deep technical knowledge in footwear development — construction, materials, complex duty structures and costing — to my role. At BBC International, I’m currently leading concept, design and product development for more than 25 mid-tier and mass market retailers, including Walmart, across the athletic, casual and seasonal footwear categories for youth and toddler girls and boys. As an innovative, customer-centric product leader operating with a strong sales focus, I’m continually looking for what’s next — unlocking white-space opportunities, capitalizing on big ideas, leveraging groundbreaking footwear technologies and pursuing new avenues for business growth. I’m also open to connecting with ambitious creative talent who can bring fresh market insights, new concepts and knowledge of the latest, fast-growing trends to my team. Throughout my career, I’ve achieved significant success: • Developing strong creative and technical talent, cultivating a strong global vendor network and expanding design and product development capabilities • Driving continual product innovation and evolving the business through improved product aesthetics, assortments, construction and cost structure while accelerating speed to market • Spearheading significant category expansion and refreshed product mix to fuel top- and bottom-line revenue growth • Partnering closely with merchant and sales teams to create a profitable merchandise mix and expand distribution

Experience

1. Head of Kids Product Private Label & Licensed Businesses Footwear Design & Product Development

   Bbc International Llc

   Oct 2018 — Present · Boca Raton, FL, US

   BBC International is a leading, full-service footwear company specializing in Design, Sourcing and Technology with Global Distribution and offices in Boca Raton, NYC and Boston. In addition to our highly successful private label business, our brand portfolio includes Polo Ralph Lauren, Champion, Heelys, Tommy Hilfiger and Nine West along with entertainment licenses for Marvel, Warner Bros. and Universal.As a member of the company’s senior leadership team reporting to the President & COO, I’m currently heading design and product development efforts for a licensed and private label footwear portfolio while collaborating with my sales, marketing and licensing counterparts to capitalize on big ideas and major trends, grow existing accounts and win new business. My team and I are always out in the market identifying new product opportunities for our retail customer base to establish a clear point of market differentiation. We are fully committed to capturing the essence of each brand and protecting its unique heritage and authenticity while pushing the boundaries to ensure newness, relevance and a competitive edge. Our goal is to bring the latest trends in fashion, color, material, construction and treatments to our retail customers and the end consumer.

Education

• Continuing Education Program at Fashion Institute of Technology

  Design Room Techniques | Fabric Studies | Footwear Design

• Northeastern University

  Bachelor of Science & Bachelor of Arts, 5-year dual degree program

Skills

• End-to-End Product Development
• Product Development
• Outerwear
• Sportswear
• Design Process Improvement
• Fashion Design
• Trend
• Shoes
• Technical Design
• Handbags
• Textiles
• Fashion
• Fit
• Cross-Functional Partnerships
• Assortment
• Knitwear
• Cost Containment Strategies
• Private Label
• Tech Packs
• Vendor Relationships
• Creative Direction
• Vendor Relationship Management
• Team Leadership & Development
• Trend Analysis
• Visual Merchandising
• Footwear
• Apparel
• E-Commerce
• Styling
• Wovens
• Materials Selection/Product Construction
• Retail
• Concept/Color/Trend Direction
• Product Design
• Brand Development
• Complex Duty Structures