Global Retail Planning & Merchandising Executive

fmr. Filson | Nordstrom | Rejuvenation | Thrasio

Kristen Kessler is a merchandising executive who pairs cultural fluency with financial rigor. She has steered strategy for heritage, luxury, and high-growth DTC brands, building assortments that drive sales while reinforcing brand identity. Over a 17-year career with Nordstrom, she rose through six positions, developing omni-channel buying strategies that drove growth and garnered national recognition. At Filson, she scaled planning and purchasing across global channels while preserving brand authenticity. At Thrasio, she brought structure and accuracy to fast-moving DTC forecasts. With a career defined by both creativity and control, Kristen has earned trust in the boardroom and on the sales floor as a leader who makes brands sharper, stronger, and more relevant.

Core Competencies: Profitability & Margin Growth Strategy | Open-to-Buy & Financial Governance | Enterprise Merchandise Planning | Strategic Inventory & Demand Optimization | Forecasting Precision & Risk Mitigation | S&OP Leadership & Cross-Functional Alignment | Seasonal & Long-Term Assortment Vision | Omni-Channel Merchandising Leadership | Global Vendor & Supplier Partnerships | Allocation & Replenishment Excellence | Process Innovation & Operational Efficiency | High-Performance Team Leadership & Mentorship

Category Expertise: Women’s Apparel | Men’s Apparel | Footwear | Handbags & Leather Goods | Jewelry & Watches | Accessories | Beauty & Skincare | Fragrance | Outdoor Apparel & Gear | Travel & Camp | Bags & Packs | Home & Furniture | Lighting & Hardware | Casegoods & Upholstery | Home Décor & Textiles | DTC & Marketplace Portfolios: Home & Kitchen | Beauty & Personal Care | Pet | Baby | Sports & Outdoors | Tools & Home Improvement

A Portland-based home goods retailer specializing in high-quality lighting, hardware, and furniture, blending timeless design with American craftsmanship.

Margin Optimization: Reduced excess inventory by 15%, $100, while maintaining profitability through strategic markdown and pricing actions.

Forecast Accuracy: Directed by SKU forecasting and demand planning, improving accuracy, which increased profitability, reduced stockouts, drove faster turn, and aligned with financial KPIs.

Financial Strategy: Drove Open-to-Buy and category strategies across 3,000+SKUs / $115M in Furniture/Accessories, leveraging sell-through, margin %, and turn metrics to ensure inventory investments supported seasonal assortments and long-range profitability targets

Cross-Functional Alignment: Aligned Merchandising and Supply Chain strategies to optimize product flow, mitigate risks, and accelerate speed-to-market, delivering incremental sales and maximizing in-season opportunities.

Data Tools: Built a reporting framework that enhanced visibility into sales, inventory health, and retail KPIs, driving faster, more intelligent business decisions.
Leadership & Development: Sole inventory leader managing a team of three, driving SIOP participation, and coaching planners to elevate analytical skills, performance, and cross-functional collaboration.

Sr Manager, Inventory Management

A leading consumer goods company that acquires, grows, and manages Amazon, Walmart, and boutique DTC brands through data-driven strategies and operational expertise.

Forecast Expansion: Expanded forecasting from Amazon into brick-and-mortar and DTC, implementing a new forecasting platform that supported 8,000+ SKUs and improved accuracy across channels.

Team Leadership: Managed a team of six Inventory Planning Analysts with enterprise responsibility for demand forecasting, guiding $60M+ in revenue planning and optimizing inventory across all categories and sales channels.

Forecast Integration: Aligned cross-functional inputs from launches, distribution, and promotions into demand forecasts, reducing stockouts and ensuring smoother in-market execution.

S&OP Leadership: Directed Demand Review sessions, driving cross-functional alignment on demand assumptions that informed financial forecasts, optimized inventory investments, and reduced risk exposure.

Model Optimization: Collaborated with an external vendor to refine statistical forecasting models, including time series and machine learning.

Merchandise Planning Manager

Forecast Accuracy: Increased forecast accuracy by 20% through advanced data analysis and collaboration with Merchandising and Operations.

Inventory Planning: Directed category-level inventory and financial planning for $20M 14 DTC and marketplace brands.

Open-to-Buy Management: Managed plans to align with seasonal strategies and promotional events; developed strategies for underperforming categories to tighten assortment appeal. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Worked cross-functionally with Supply Chain and vendor teams to ensure product availability, improving speed-to-market and reducing out-of-stock risk.

Margin Improvement: Applied analytics to identify risks and opportunities, improving inventory turns by 10% and increasing profitability by $3M

Inventory Planner

An iconic American outfitter known for rugged, durable outdoor clothing, bags, and gear, trusted since 1897.

ERP Upgrade: Oversaw D365 implementation for 20+ users, improving planning accuracy and replenishment efficiency by 10% and enhancing visibility into retail KPIs. 

Leadership & Talent Development: Directed a 12-person team managing an $85M business across men’s/women’s apparel, bags & luggage, accessories, and home, fostering a high-performance culture that strengthened analytical skills and retail math expertise.

Financial Planning: Managed omni-channel Open-to-Buy and long-range forecasting, including 5-year category-level planning, leveraging sell-through, margin %, and turn metrics to optimize investments. 

Cross-Functional Alignment: Partnered with Merchandising, Finance, Product Development, Web, and Marketing to align assortments, promotions, and inventory strategies with profitability targets.

Executive Reporting: Delivered reporting on sales performance, inventory health, and retail KPIs, providing insights for strategic decision-making.

Director of Demand Planning and Purchasing

Manager skilled in meeting busniess objectives

Forecasting Accuracy: Improved demand forecasting accuracy by 10% across omni-channel business through 3–4 custom tools that elevated planning precision and allocation efficiency.

Team Management: Led a team of three overseeing planning, demand forecasting, and allocation across categories.

Cross-Functional Partnership: Worked with Merchandising, Product Development, Production, Vendors, Supply Chain, Web, and Marketing to align product flow and inventory strategies with sales goals.

Manager Planning, Demand & Allocation 

Omni-Channel Forecasting: Managed men’s and women’s apparel forecasts across 500+ SKUs using bottom-up and top-down planning to meet budget targets.

Cross-Functional Alignment: Partnered with Merchandising, Product Development, Production, Supply Chain, Warehouse, and vendors to ensure accurate forecasting and smooth product flow.

Forecasting and Demand Planning Lead

A premier fashion retailer recognized for its curated assortment of luxury and contemporary brands, a multi-channel footprint across North America, and an industry-leading reputation for customer experience.  Kristen was progressively promoted across six roles in merchandising, buying, and inventory management during a 17-year career with Nordstrom.

Team Recognition: Named Merchandising Team of the Year (2010) and awarded Multi-Channel Buy Planner of the Year for Accessories and Women’s Specialized Division. 

Assortment Planning: Partnered with the Buyer to create product plans supporting seasonal strategies, aligning with customer expectations and fashion trends.

Buy Quantification: Directed breadth and depth of assortment, creating and managing seasonal buy plans.

Inventory Decisions: Led in-season inventory management for a $290M business, making strategic decisions on analysis, markdowns, claims, and reorders

Vendor Engagement: Traveled for market appointments and hosted vendor meetings to strengthen partnerships, complemented by monthly vendor calls.

Mentorship: Coached and developed 3 Assistant Buy Planners to improve performance and prepare them for future buy planning roles.

Omni-Channel Buy Planner

Vendor Management: Built and maintained strong relationships across 15+ brands through monthly calls and market appointments.

Replenishment Strategy: Drove item performance through planning, ordering, and inventory management.

Product Vision: Partnered with Buyers to align replenishment buys with seasonal strategies.

Performance Analysis: Contributed to weekly business reviews, analyzing in-season replenishment sales and inventory results.

National Replenishment Buyer for Watches

Purchase Orders: Wrote and executed POs by analyzing sales trends to determine optimal product placement by store.

Inventory Control: Managed in-season location-level inventory across 100+ stores and eComm, executing stock balances to optimize current product performance. 

Market Support: Partnered with Buyer during market appointments, contributing to product selection decisions.

National Assistant Watch Buyer

Territory Growth: Oversaw nine stores across NJ, NY, CT, and PA, later expanding to 14 stores across TX, GA, and FL, delivering 20%+ sales growth YoY.

Collaboration & Manager Development: Aligned strategies with 4 Buyers,8 Merchandise and 8 Regional Managers, while mentoring 8-14 Department Managers through store visits to drive sales growth and strengthen leadership capability.

Sales Reporting: Reviewed weekly, monthly, and YTD reports to assess performance and inform adjustments.

Visual Standards: Partnered with the Regional Visual Merchandising Manager to uphold merchandising presentation standards.

Regional Merchandise Manager

Recognition: Named Midwest Region Department Manager of the Year for exceptional performance.

Team Leadership: Managed 8–12 sales associates, building a pipeline for the Nordstrom Future Leaders Inspire program.

Sales Growth: Directed daily merchandising and product presentation to maximize new arrivals and best sellers.

 Jewelry & Watch Manager

Brand Management: Oversaw Philosophy and Origins skincare brands, delivering tailored consultations.

Sales Results: Drove sales performance through strong product knowledge and personalized service.

 Cosmetic Counter Manager

Founder, marcellaINC Studios | Brand Consultant for Fashion, Sport & Lifestyle | Wholesale Strategy for Emerging Brands | Industry Coaching for New Grads 

Strategic Retail Leader | Merchandise & Financial Planning | Fashion, Beauty & Wellness | Growth, Profitability & Innovation

<span style="font-family: 'Archivo', Arial, sans-serif;" class="message-mention" data-index="0" data-denotation-char="@" data-id="656039c1-2442-4476-b386-48a95f6db97d" data-sid="kristen-kessler-1807420" data-username="Kristen Kessler" data-link="https://malakye.com/profile/kristen-kessler-1807420" > @ <a href="https://malakye.com/profile/kristen-kessler-1807420" target="_blank">Kristen Kessler</a> - this is a great share (and it would be a great update the Summary field in your profile - it&#39;s so direct, to the point, and easy to follow). There&#39;s gotta be something in the PDX area. We&#39;ll be on the lookout.

Hi everyone, I hope this note finds you well!&nbsp;I wanted to share that I’m currently exploring new opportunities in merchandise, inventory, and demand planning leadership. My background spans omni-channel planning, forecasting, and inventory optimization, and I’m passionate about connecting great product to customers in the right place at the right time.I’m based in Portland, OR, but open to relocating for the right role. If you know of opportunities that might be a fit—or would be open to passing my resume along within your network—I’d be so grateful. I’m always glad to return the favor and be a resource where I can.Thank you for your support! —Kristen

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Kristen Kessler is a Global Retail Planning & Merchandising Executive fmr. Filson at Rejuvenation in Washougal, Washington.

Kristen Kessler

Kristen Kessler

Kristen Kessler

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