Emma Bryan

I lead the sourcing, development, and delivery of all the own brand fashion products from the region, covering womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, baby, lingerie, swim, nightwear, bags, footwear, accessories, and luggage. In a complex, shallow-buy model with wide-ranging categories, success relies on strong supplier relationships, agility, and strategic sourcing to navigate evolving market demands. Achievements: *Scaled Hong Kong sourcing operations from zero to £41M, growing and leading a 14-person team to support business expansion. *Restructured the sourcing team to be more supplier- and efficiency-focused, moving away from buying-driven sourcing habits. This shift enabled supplier consolidation and raw material efficiencies, resulting in cost savings of up to 20%. *Led a cross-functional project to standardize Ways of Working across all buying offices, breaking down silos and creating a unified framework from design concept to product delivery. This initiative was completed ahead of the Head Office transformation and became the foundation for future process improvements. *Led the Head Office transformation workstream by developing job descriptions and designing the structure for the newly formed UK sourcing team. I transitioned the team from supplier management into sourcing, significantly expanding its size and strategic capabilities. *Achieved Six Sigma Green Belt, strengthening expertise in continuous improvement and data-driven process optimisation.

Delivered all sourcing and product development of women’s outerwear with FOB USD70M budget. Managed a team of 8 development merchandisers in Hong Kong and Shanghai and created a supplier strategy to meet evolving business directives. Key Achievements: * Led a team to develop cost-saving initiatives that offset AUD/USD FX volatility, securing a 3-point margin improvement and ensuring target margins were achieved. * Streamlined product development group and integrated Asia teams into one management structure which allowed for the implementation of PLM system and clear critical paths for the company and vendors. * Improved the performance and stability of the team, in turn offering the buyers, planners and designers in Australia a strong unified business partner in Asia. * Refined strategy to move from trading companies to direct sourced factories resulting in increased shipments by 37%.

Managed sourcing and product development for denim, woven, jersey, and knit products, driving growth through trend-led range enhancements. Expanded the supplier base to improve margins and quality, secured new orders with major UK and EU retailers, and opened sales channels in two new markets. Streamlined fabric sourcing processes and introduced supplier evaluation and training adopted company wide.

Managed all woven Product Development for Debenhams’ brands including the Designers at Debenhams. Key Achievements: * Set up woven Product Development for the Hong Kong office and coached teams to meet each brand's quality, aesthetics and costing requirements. * Managed all direct Product Development business in China, built a growth strategy with the Senior Category Manager. * Reorganised the team, implemented new processes, and shifted production to improve efficiency, reduce costs and improve margins and workmanship.

Led the Product Development team in designing, developing and sourcing products by customer price points. Managed UK customers from product development to shipment, oversaw China-based merchandising team. Built the woven business from $0 to USD 7M in 2 years; strengthened sourcing and improved prices. Collaborated with HK creative and merchandising teams to optimise efficiency.

Developed woven products for high margin, low-volume customers and managed all aspects of the customer relationships focusing on increasing orders and profit margin by directing a team of merchandisers, technicians and designers.

Managed the entire non-denim range from concept to sales team handover and managed a team of four designers. Forecasted and designed the entire collection, including introduction of accessories.

Relocated from the UK office to lead the design and development team in Hong Kong. Managed all product development from concept to production while leading a team of designers. Streamlined processes to improve efficiency.