To define the opportunities achievable by improving operational effectiveness within the Creative and production function of this leading multi channel home shopping retailer.

• Delivered an impartial, objective view of the current capability within this business critical function by engaging with over 100 team members.
• Provided a detailed gap analysis highlighting conclusions and requirements to achieve higher levels of effectiveness and efficiency with industry benchmarking where appropriate.
• Devised a programme offering a clear perspective of the requirements to address the gap in performance - fully costed with timescales and resource planning.

To provide a project manager for the re-platforming of the Whistles website onto Demandware.

• Successfully landing the implementation of Demandware into the Whistles business.
• Ensuring clear definition of all business requirements and handover to the key delivery partners.
• Working with the delivery partners to develop ways of working, reviewing project plans and approaches, and ensuring overall quality of solution delivery.
• Coordinating the specification and implementation of the new ‘look and feel’ of the Whistles.com website, between the design agency, SI and the business.
• Providing on-going IT advice and expertise to the ecommerce business team to ensure cost effective development going forward.

To define, plan and deliver a strategy to resolve the challenge of achieving visibility, control and reporting on the global supply and management of store fixtures and fittings for replacement, new and refurbished stores.

• Athito offered us the ability to hit the ground running knowing that what we were set to build and deliver was best of breed and absolutely right for our needs.
• Experiencing purchasing and supply challenges?
• An independent, fast paced immersion and identification of the purchasing and supply function in M&S, resulting in the development of a future strategy and plans to deliver the strategy across people, process and technology.
• Identified that technology alone would not be the solution and the need to change culture and processes not only in-house but in (global) suppliers too.
• Facilitated the engaged of a cross section of teams across the business including suppliers, to form a technical requirement offered to the market through a procurement process managed by Athito.
• Developed a rigorous procurement process with AX12 selected as the solution and built and managed the end to end process from supplier selection, requirements, build, test and launch.
• Took the team and relevant dependent internal departments and external suppliers on a carefully managed journey with clear reporting and risk management process in place.

To provide programme support in the build, co-ordination and management of an extensive list of projects required to shape the Selfridges multichannel roadmap.

• The delivery of a fully costed and resourced programme plan featuring complex projects across multiple disciplines
• A complete change readiness assessment with dependency tracker enabling the business to have full visibility and transparency of progress, risks and issues
• Ensuring key stakeholders were informed and programme participants fully briefed as a result of best in class project management experts leading weekly development meetings

To provide ongoing support to Wacoal Eveden for the Leia London lingerie brand in Israel.
Focusing on defining and implementing a sales and profit growth strategy, improving the day to day operational approach to the business.

• Defined and implemented a new retail strategy aligned to the market requirements, competitive set and also to complement the Wacoal Eveden business model
• Provided ongoing support to the programme of change, including managing the restructure of the team
• Established a pricing strategy and range to realign the brand image and delivered a 6% improvement in total margin
• Developed and implemented tools to manage retail operations including new stock control processes to improve stock holding efficiency
• Created a seasonal marketing calendar to drive sales plans, continuing to provide ongoing support to deliver sales and profit targets
• Developed partnerships with department store groups and shopping centres to support the sales growth targets

To review the photographic content strategy and propose a clear direction to support online sales growth sales and contribution targets.

• A compelling understanding as to how various customer types drive sales within and across channels
• A clear positioning as to how the Bonmarché brand sits in the context of the market and direct competitors and what the content gap is
• A detailed photographic content strategy and a road map to delivering it based on customer type and return on investment at product category level
• Detailed illustrative costings and sales uplift modeling
• Style guides for online photography at product category level
• Internal and external resource requirements to deliver the strategy
• Photography trials based on recommendations delivered a 20% sales uplift and increased conversion rates

To create a customer focused and integrated baby proposition for Asda’s Digital channels achieving sales growth and increasing market share in the UK.

Stage 1

• Completed a comprehensive market review and benchmarking exercise and evaluated the competitive set to inform product strategy including recommendation of new opportunities
• Reviewed the Asda customer journey for all baby purchases and benchmarked against competitors to highlight gaps and opportunities
• Completed a detailed range analysis by product type, brand and price to inform future range direction

Stage 2

• Delivered a high level product and promotional strategy and detailed range plan as a result of the review
• Established a clear direction to achieve increased online sales and market share

As part of the Tesco Marketplace programme, Athito managed the critical ‘order management’ and ‘payment service provision’ workstreams. This challenging project focused on right first time delivery within budget and programme timescales.

• Ontime, successful workstream management to enable the overall Tesco Marketplace programme to be delivered within schedule and budget
• Developed and embedded standards, tools and working practices within the business and 3rd party sellers

To provide an Interim Head of Online who would manage and develop the online sales during the peak trading period to achieve sales growth, contribution and customer acquisition targets.

• Immediate placement of a subject matter expert, capable of taking responsibility and delivering results quickly
• Quickly re-launched the homepage and improved navigation to improve merchandise opportunities. Ultimately driving increases in AOV and conversion
• Implemented operational cross team improvements to ensure all trading areas were aligned to drive and fulfill online promotions
• Identified and implemented cost saving initiative through improving processes, bringing specific activities in-house and improved supplier management
• Worked within operational, budget and system constraints
• Delivered significant sales growth during peak and in key calendar event periods
• Consistently improved conversion rates
• Provided management, direction and industry knowledge to the in- house online team
• Managed the recruitment for the permanent Head of online

To build and launch an International ecommerce blueprint for rapid and tailored expansion, initially for the French market and then rolled out to country specific sites.

• Fast and effective specification, selection, built, tested and deployed within 9 months
• Achieved stability of the operational and technical requirements to enable bespoking by country to be completed quickly
• Minimal disruption to day-to-day business enabling the core programme to run in parallel

To develop a product information strategy and define and build processes, workflows and systems to achieve a more detailed and commercial level of channel agnostic information right first time.

• Significantly increased accuracy to web and print channels
• Removed a large number of unnecessary process steps and checking points, improving speed to market
• Instilled trust in quality and consistency of data – ensuring one version of the truth
• Developed a Product Information team, became experts in their respective product categories
• Introduced Continuous Improvement on product Information so that team members improved the manner in which product was offered and communicated to the customer
• Reduced headcount and redeployed team members to newly defined structure and roles

To develop the proposition and business case to launch Debenhams.ru on behalf of the franchise partner in the Russian market. The development of the complementary online channel is intended to support the small store network and offer a wider reach across Russia.

• Provided market, customer and direct competitor insight to inform the overall proposition – range, price, service
• Established the operational requirements and identified the supply base required to support the online channel
• Specified overall system and platform requirements in association with the wider business and Debenhams UK, including recommending appropriate providers
• Devised a detailed online marketing strategy and investment to deliver sales targets, generate brand awareness and acquire customers
• Developed detailed implementation plans with timeline and cost estimates
• Delivered top line 5 year sales plan with indicative contribution view based on KPI targets
• Managed multiple stakeholders in the project on behalf of the franchise partner