Scott Bennett

BENOVATE Retail Inc. is a privately owned sales and consulting firm focused on the Canadian Retail space. BENOVATE Retail Inc. will leverage Canadian retail expertise, innovation and a client-centric approach to achieve success.

Elected to the OCTO Purchasing Group Board of Directors. OCTO is a well established Canadian purchasing group participating in hardware, industrial, plumbing and HVAC market segments. OCTO has 70 independently owned members, accounting for over 2000 locations across Canada.

Led the merchandising team of 30 and held full P&L responsibility to deliver the sales, inventory and EBITDA plan. Governed assortment management for three retail banners: Peavey Mart, MainStreet Hardware and ACE Canada, representing over 200 retail locations across Canada. Executive sponsor for vendor connectivity which included onboarding 93% of vendors on EDI and implementing vendor service level and vendor sales portal.

Instrumental role with the merger of TSC Stores into the Peavey Industries business and the acquisition of the ACE Canada brand license from Lowes Canada. Championed Peavey Industries category management strategy by institutionalizing the roles and tactics of product categories into the management of the business by retail banner.

Developed framework for negotiating 600 annual vendor fund contracts, maximizing vendor support. Created seasonal planning 'go to market' process, linking together financial, operational and strategic executional plans for each season. Pioneered private brand strategy including the development of the OxGear, Harvest Grade and Harvest Goodness brands and the acquisition of the Rolling Acres brand.

Developed Omni-Channel strategy consisting of ecommerce, flyer program, digital flyers, loyalty, CRM and customer experience. Built a 52 week flyer program with a focus on flyer productivity, price optimization and forecast accuracy.

Pioneered global sourcing strategy enhancing margins and built infrastructure to support increasing direct import containers from 50 to 400 annually. Created renewable energy strategy capitalizing on the government supported Clean Energy Standard Offer Program (CESOP).

Developed short-term and long-term strategies using category management principles to meet financial and operational targets. Drove innovation with exciting, new and exclusive products in Automotive and Outdoor Recreation categories. Exceeded financial plan (sales, margin, inventory) consecutively as a category manager.

Board of Governor's Scholarship, 1996