Silvia Gatti

Reporting to the Director Multiplatform Merchandising Planning & Programming.

Acting as partner to Merchandising on strategic product direction for new categories/brands and work to attract potential brands and partners. Supporting buying teams to fill ‘White Space’ products areas.

Act as the key contact for other functions of the company and working closely with buying teams as well as with other key stakeholders in Planning/Legal/Quality/Supply Chain/Finance/Logistics/Marketing/Digital Store.

Developing learning strategies to meet critical business needs and Merchandising skill requirements.

Leading strategic merchandising projects:

QVC International COGS & Margin – Italy Market Co-Project Lead. March 2023 – ongoing

Programming Team reorganization. February 2023 – ongoing

Refurbished and Second Hand Project – Project Lead 2022 – 2023

QVC International Drop Shipment Italy Market Project Lead. September 2021 – ongoing

Merchandising Team Capacity Improvement Project. Project Lead. July 2022 – ongoing. Internal and cross-functional analysis of needs and obstacles, simplification of the existing processes, development of new and frictionless ones, clarification of the accountabilities, elimination of redundant meetings and improvement of the cross-functional communication. Investment in buying trainings. Ideation, development (in several cases with the support of dedicated teams) and introduction of new tools and dashboards to provide data visibility and improve info exchange with other functions.

LikeQ video commerce app start-up Project - Merchandising workstream responsible. July 2021- mid 2022

Reporting to the Director of Buying.

Responsible for the strategy and the expansion of Skincare and Bath and Body categories. Start-up of Supplements category, which delivered for many years one of the fastest sales growth among all divisions in Europe.

Managing and developing a team of high performing and motivated buyers ensuring sales, margins and inventory target are met.

Developing new brands and lines like Syrio Supplements , Syrio B-Lift Skincare and Bath&Body, Armores Supplements and Skincare, Gli Alimenti del Benessere, Ultimate, Reflower Boost Bandage, SBC Lotus Flower Intimate line and SBC Body Sculpt, most of them have been record sales and New Names generators performers and are still today (2023) among the best-selling and higher true margin performers at Company level.

Sourcing and contract negotiation with new vendors. Budgeting.

Working closely with Marketing, E-commerce and Planning departments to develop a strategic positioning of the categories.

High focus on Multi-Platform Retail opportunities, from E-Commerce to Social activities.

October-November 2014 QVC China CNR Mall - QVC International Ambassador Project. Buying Team Mentor.

In 2011 I promoted the need and actively participated to the development of the first Open To Buy tool, which was implemented and used by the Beauty division for many years, until was replaced by the actual one. The tool allowed a very good planning and control of purchases and inventory levels.

Reporting to the VP Merchandising and Planning.

Start-up of the Beauty Division at QVC Italy, selecting and coaching a brand-new team of Buyers and Buyer’s Administrators, launching new brands and departments, in cooperation with a QVC US Buyer for the first weeks.

Identifying a strategic positioning for the Beauty Division in the Italian market.

Defining and implementing all internal processes to ensure the launch of the division.

Cooperating with the QA and Legal team defining the process to get QA and Legal approvals.

Contacting new vendors, selecting new brands. Contract negotiation.

Responsible for potential buying and manufacturing market expansion in Europe, identifying new suppliers, negotiating contract terms, keeping abreast of new trends through the development of new qualities and new products.

Buying and production planning.

Start-up of the new brand COS Collection of Styles / Accessories.

Manufacturing and buying in Italy, identifying new suppliers, developing new qualities and new lines for leather accessories, shoes, bags, jewels, socks, tights, underwear and swimwear.

Contract negotiation, product development, price quotation and order follow-up.

I continued to cover this role in parallel with all the following positions during all my cooperation with H&M.

Social Auditing. Supporting suppliers and their sub-units to grow efficient management systems. Working closely with suppliers and the buying/merchandising functions to ensure responsible and sustainable purchasing practices.

Quality Inspector for underwear, clothes, denim and accessories for Italy, Tunisia and Spain. Quality project team leader for cosmetics.

Responsible for socks, tights and underwear developing, manufacturing, wholesale and retailing.

In charge of developing and managing factory outlet retail chains.- Buyer, financial controller, shop supervisor. Responsible for recruiting human resources and identifying new locations.