Katie Paul

Lead a team responsible for developing supplier and retailer category management solutions based on advanced analytics, consumer insights, and category trends. Forage, curate and cultivate a winning brand portfolio that drives innovation and profitability. Create go-to-market strategies through digital advertising and promotional effectiveness that drive vertical growth and expanded distribution.

• Attracted top talent from both internal and external pools to create a pipeline of talent for the future. • Led a retailer facing category management team that analyzed multiple and diverse data sources to define assortment and merchandising opportunities and provide actionable insights and solutions. • Created return on investment analyses that uncovered a 17% increase in COGS, $96 million, and a 15bps increase in inside income, $4.7M, over 200 projects. • Presented at multiple industry events, include NGA and Expo East, regarding natural and specialty product trends, brand innovation, and compelling insights. • Negotiated and completed a data and insights RFP at a 50% reduction in cost with additional services and data availability.

• Evaluated assortment and merchandising at retail for our largest customers, including natural chains, conventional chains, and natural and grocery independents. • Synthesized consumer insights, category trends, demographics, and syndicated data to develop actionable assortment and merchandising solutions. • Presented the industry landscape and evolution in a compelling manner to a wide variety of audiences, including retailers, manufacturers, brokers, and wholesalers. • Established case studies to analyze results of seven retailer category projects that resulted in incremental retailer sales of $9.5M and incremental internal income of $185k. • Developed, trained, and led team members to be ready to move into new roles throughout the organization and within the team.

• Led a team of Project Managers, who support Retail Growth Solutions with retailer specific demographic clustering, syndicated data analysis, and assortment opportunities. • Participated in business development opportunities by surveying stores for category, trend, and assortment gaps, creating presentation material related to our team’s capabilities and value add, and presenting live during retailer RFP’s and to target accounts to create horizontal sales lifts. • Supported existing business during category reviews, educational presentations, and merchandising solutions to create vertical sales lifts. • Managed consumer insights & syndicated data partnerships and drove RFP processes to determine highest potential organizations for partnership. • Created actionable merchandising solutions for retailers based on macro trends and emerging trends to keep retailers relevant and competitive.

• Assembled and presented key trend and category review presentations to 27 non-traditional and key account retailers on a regular basis. • Cooperated with our Category Management team in compiling review presentations and communicating our message to create solutions at retail. • Offered assortment recommendations, merchandising techniques, and marketing tactics to our Account Managers and retail partners by utilizing fact based data and consumer insights. • Evaluated past performance of presentations and projects with self-designed lag reporting tools and metrics to maximize sales potential of our retail partners.

• Managed $200 million annually across 450 existing brands to ensure continuous flow of relevant product line extensions and compelling promotional and advertising programs. • Collaborated with other Marketing team members on planning and implementation of projects such as; annual trade shows, publications, training and education events, and merchandising. • Identified and seized non-traditional opportunities to offer entirely new lines of products in all channels such as; E-commerce, Chain, Natural, and Independent, including the introduction of the “Free From” category at retail. • Presented category reviews with category trends and insights, category and store demographics, syndicated and internal data, and new and emerging items and brands to customers.

•Use Spins and AC Nielsen databases to extract sydicated data for retailer presentations and Marketing category reviews. •Analyze retailer plan-o-grams for gaps and voids in assortment and variety based on internal and external data sources. •Create demographic analysis through Spectra to determine consumer profiles and customer trade areas for account specific category reviews. •Utilize IBM Cognos Connection to run internal data when score-carding presentations given to five large accounts.

•Aided with the development of profitability models for new and existing business proposals by strategizing new pricing and promotional models. •Partnered with Finance on the 2012 fiscal year budget to allocate promotion and vendor support income for alternate channels. •Developed monthly process for a new retailer spoils program to recover dollars from our vendor partners. •Determined impact to standard gross margin due to freight changes, self-funded promotions, cost changes, etc.

•Used SQL Server to fulfill Marketing data requests and needs for category reviews and gross margin, promotion, and credit analysis. •Analyzed past promotional activity to identify lifts in movement and recommend future items and time frames for promotions. •Presented and trained the vendor and broker community on a reporting tool to determine gap analysis and POD reports. •Acted as the Marketing team lead during company acquisitions and integrations to ensure efficient pricing structures and processes.

•Facilitated category review process by organizing meetings with category captains and compiling relevant data. •Priced new items and cost changes based on goal margins for specific categories and customers. •Sourced new vendors and items based on customer and category needs while achieving a smooth transition. •Worked closely with prospective new vendors regarding Kehe Food’s policies and procedures and new item setup.

•Maintained relationships with clients to ensure satisfaction and gain clientele. •Handled opening and closing the business daily. •Trained cosmetologists on computer scheduling software.

•Trained new team members on cash registers and phones. •Rang up customers and dealt with returns in a fast-paced environment. •Answered phones and transferred calls.