Mel Hawkins

• Broad expertise across numerous product categories including stationery, 3D greetings cards and books, bags, accessories, gift, plush, homewares, collectables, cosmetics, electronics, apparel, and interiors lines. • Lead product development process to devise and refine concepts, source capable suppliers, ensure high quality control and deliver diverse ranges which meet every requirement from aesthetic to financial. • Schedule and execute long-term cross-departmental critical paths for multiple brands and categories. Co-ordinate cross-team collaboration and allocate resources to manage complete product life-cycle. • Analyse sales, monitor trends, compile forecasts, set budgets and strategise targeted growth. • Control purchasing budgets, negotiate competitive rates, optimise margins & manage multi-currency price lists. • Manage supplier portfolio in UK, Europe and Asia with continual relationship, performance, and efficiency evaluations. • Proficient in working with Asian markets including sourcing, negotiation, distance management, travel to trade shows and factories, dispute resolution and monitoring / addressing copyright infringements. • Adept within international logistics management to control schedule of disparate incoming skus to hit required launch availability. Oversee control of rates, payments, schedules, documentation, and customs declarations. • Full QA responsibility with stringent ongoing regulatory awareness to ensure multi-region legislative compliance. • Build and lead strong teams of diverse individuals to meet company’s evolving entrepreneurial business objectives.

• Demonstrated business acumen and the capability to action change through implementing departmental organisational reform. • Excelled at improving business flow across product development and creative teams to deliver significant process efficiencies.

• Initiated and implemented cross-departmental critical paths to improve range execution to time and cost targets. • Utilised resulting increased capacity to diversify and grow into wider categories including bespoke stationery ranges.

• Instrumental in modernising how products were conceptualised, developed, sourced, and produced.