As the agency representing all Mattel’s properties in RSA, Barbie, Hot Wheels, My Scene, Polly Pocket, Fisher Price & Scrabble. Their approximate annual turnover is R 80 million, a staff contingent of six achieves this figure.

My responsibilities where:
•The management of relationships, & assisting licensees, retailers & manufacturers, to develop & promote both soft & hard line product ranges in line with Mattel’s stringent brand & marketing requirements
•Presented regular workshops to inspire focus on the brand & provide guidelines, international success comparisons, & guidance for adaption to the local market with key deliverables focused on revenue generation, profitability increased market share & brand awareness.
•Maintaining & mentoring an up to date knowledge of the brand with the aid of strict guidelines from Mattel, attended monthly global design conference calls for brand updates & input, as well as attending the annual design conference at Mattel head office in Los Angles USA.
•Ensuring that all directives put forward by Mattel were transmitted clearly to all licensee partners & retailers
•Provide input & approvals for artwork from licensees for both soft & hard product lines to ensure designs are in keeping with the brand as well as assisting with technical advice on optimum printing & manufacturing techniques.
•Research the market for potential new product ranges, make recommendations & give guidance to licensees & retailer to take it to market.
•Conceptualize innovative ideas for advertising campaigns, POS & promotions across all media types
•Perform quarterly audits of licensee royalty reports to ensure that accurate royalty payments are made to Mattel & their agents.
•As a result of my management, Powerhouse South Africa’s second largest Barbie licensee, generating R4 million per quarter, were able to streamline operations under my guidance. I was able to reduce approval time from 4 weeks to 3 days, & through workshops improve the design level & quality of product thereby significantly driving up revenue.
•Edcon, the biggest character driven retailer in South Africa benefitted when I engaged with key stakeholders, together we were able to develop a sustainable communication strategy, ramped up product development, & re-engineered their design approval process. Our relationship was dramatically improved which in turn increased brand focus & sales, assisting Barbie products to capture 60% of the girl department sales

Fusion Knits is one of the leading South African outerwear suppliers, specializing in knitwear products. An employee base of 50 people. It was a division of Millennium Fashion Industries an international textile manufacturing company.

•The knits/sports division experiencing no growth. Faced with this I assessed the current range, researched competitors & market trends, identified product lines, oversaw the in house design process, negotiated production costs with Eastern manufacturers, & managed retailers’ complex delivery requirements & successfully expanded the knitwear range. As a direct result, we saw a 180% increase in revenue, based on this I was awarded a significant performance bonus. I was responsible for developing fashion ranges, from concept to delivery for international brands such as Converse, Dickies & Polo Ladies, as well as for large retail chain stores, with key deliverables focused on unit sales, revenue generation, profitability, product development & market share.
•Accountable for developing new product ranges & concepts, presenting ranges to buyers & merchandisers, briefing in-house designer on CAD, liaising with manufacturers in the East to negotiate unit prices & delivery times ;
•Managed delivery of products to the retailers, to exacting packaging specifications, ensuring avoidance of penalty clauses / payments.