Dominic Bruno
Merchandising and Product Development Executive for Jewelry and Accessories
West New York, NJ
• Highly accomplished Product Development executive qualified for VP/Divisional-General Manager-Director position with company demanding expertise in all aspects of product development, merchandising and business development, manufacturing, and new product launch.
• Performance-, process-, and results-driven, in commitment to quality and ongoing improvement.
Work Experience
Vice President, Sales & Product Development, Jewelry Division
March 2011 to January 2012
Responsible for development and sales of fashion watches and jewelry for presentations to ShopNBC and HSN.
• Coordinated cross category product for multi-hour Disney project (4th QTR). Developed and selected product (watches, pen sets, apparel, leather goods, jewelry, prints, dinnerware, ceramic mugs) and negotiated terms with all category licensees to ensure optimum breadth of product and pricing.
• 2011 sales for ShopNBC expected to close with a 55% increase over 2010.
• Developed new fashion line of watches to be launched on ShopNBC in 2011 Q4.
• Improved Vendor Performance evaluation provided by ShopNBC: 2011 Grade for OPS Performance improved to 99% from 2010 grade of D.
Vice President, US Operations
August 2009 to March 2011
Initially contracted by international jewelry manufacturer to provide strategic direction in all areas setting up North American base of operations. Solely responsible for selection of office location and infra-structure, inventory and merchandising operations, network set-up and administration, accounts payables, company advisors (accounting and legal), and sales.
• Initiated business with HSN and built sales from zero to $500K in 2010.
• Recognized by HSN as having exceeded all key performance measures in Customer Experience for Q2 in 2010.
o Achieved product rating averaged 3.8 out of 4 for all products.
o Return rates performing better than the department level average.
Vice President, Product Development and Model Control
January 2008 to January 2009
Directed overall product development functions with accountability for final approval of all merchandising plans and prototype designs. Monitored labor and material cost to achieve desired price points while identifying production and supply difficulties and offering solutions. Facilitated timely reviews of designs and pricing and relayed direction to production team.
• Provided all creative and direction for new natural gemstone line based on color and fashion trends launched at JCK 2008 and Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair September 2008.
• Increased 2008 HSN sales 26% over 2007.
• Successfully analyzed category- and customer-specific businesses and transferred findings into product initiatives.
Vice President of Merchandising and Product Development, Luxury Division
May 2006 to January 2008
Executed product initiatives to create appropriate looks for each collection, ensuring concept and design aesthetic while achieving margin objectives and managing the relationships with the international vendor community. Monitored labor and material costs while overseeing the creation of bills of materials to ensure financial goals.
• Developed and nurtured relationships with China manufacturing community to ensure quality of product and on-time delivery of prototypes and orders, while tracking all PD issues and implementing changes in new items and production.
• Provided design concept, direction, and feedback to designers in US, China, and Europe, maintaining aesthetic and storyboards.
• Managed domestic and international development schedules, ensuring all on-time deliveries (pricing, components, samples, revisions).
• Primary contact for all internal and external customers for development issues, with core feedback dealing with pricing, QC, sourcing, stone & component supply.
• Successfully directed the development of 7 new collections, utilizing domestic and international design resources, and placing each collection with 4 different manufacturers in China and Europe.
Director, Product Development and Quality Control
January 2005 to May 2006
Accountable for the development and supervision of entire product development process while managing the completion of quality/production specifications sheets and bills of materials. Directly managed team of model makers (Lead, 2 Associates) and design team (1 Hand, 1 CAD) and maintained work flow to ensure completion to desired deadlines while maintaining Creative Directors design aesthetic. Daily interacted with Creative Director to provide updates on DIP, sample review, line expansion, design reviews, and preliminary costing. Managed cost and pricing of all items and relayed Development updates to vital departments.
• Created and managed PD calendar to track all work in development (design, CAD, casting, assembly, polishing, finishing, setting, QC, and final pricing) and enforced deliverables to meet market launches.
• Established development protocols and processes for tracking all concepts in progress, including tracking numbers, personnel codes, product locations, Master DIP Report, BOM.
• Implemented new product classifications.
Director, Quality Control, Vendor Contracting
June 2002 to October 2004
Managed team of QC inspectors (loose stones and finished goods) to ensure the quality of product before shipping to customers. Interfaced with boutique staff, production, sales, marketing, and customer service departments to obtain feedback and determine how to fix problems as they arose. Implemented corporate QC regulations with financial fee schedule for appropriate quality rejections.
• Quality of shipped jewelry ranged from 99.2% to 100%.
• Increased profitability by sourcing China vendors to manufacture multiple collections off site while maintaining high standards of quality.
Supervisor of Product Development
May 2001 to June 2002
Coordinated activities related to the development of product manufacturing proposals to increase plant productivity while investigating the cost of different manufacturing techniques to ensure competitive pricing. Worked closely with the international vendor community to source designs while ensuring quality standards and margin protocols. Supervised staff of product coordinators (4) and administrative processes necessary to update, maintain, & submit new product proposals. Managed international development for 13 vendors in China and directed items and projects to anticipate the buyers requests.
Assistant Buyer
September 1998 to May 2001
Helped merchandise, identify, and implement strategic directives that were successful in electronic retail. Worked to identify and execute new products, concepts, shows, and trends that met internal and external expectations while maintaining accurate reports, Open-to-Buy (OTB) analysis, and daily office operations. Monitored brand financials (P&L, sales, and inventory levels of all categories), while maximizing margins and growing presence of categories and programs for 14K Gold, with annual sales exceeding $217 Million.
Store Manager
May 1989 to September 1998
Education
Bachelor of Sciences in Business Administration
Certificate in Diamonds
Additional Information
CORE COMPETENCIES
• Negotiation skills
• Experiences dealing with Chinese manufacturers
• Experiences with product of mass market volumes at entry level prices to high end luxury product
• Fostering and managing vendor relationships
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