Mitch Costner

Supports Chief Merchandising Officer during contract negotiations and renewals. Manages the inspection and 3rd party testing of finished goods, raw materials, parts, and products to ensure adherence to established quality standards and specifications. Performs random and requested showroom sample inventory inspections and testing to confirm performance of display samples. Collaborates with Supply Chain and other Merchandising team members to qualify new suppliers around prescribed standards and requirements. plans and participates in international and domestic product sourcing trips

Direct product life-cycle initiatives including product launches and closeouts for over 2500 retail locations. Manage Project Manager team to deliver product rollout initiatives. Initiate communication of product changes and timelines. Provide organizational guidance based on interpretation of vendor productivity and product performance. Responsible for vendor/supplier relationship management and communication. Responsible for planning and facilitating vendor reviews. Responsible for planning and participating in International and domestic product sourcing trips.

Direct organizational strategy including M&A execution, bankruptcy navigation, and internal cross-functional initiatives.

Led and assisted in cross-functional planning of organizational merger and acquisition initiatives. Executed conversion of 32 M&A events accounting for the addition of over 1,200 retail locations and on-boarding of over 5,000 associates.