20+ years of experience with leading global sports and lifestyle brands. Expert in category merchandising, marketplace management and product creation process at global, regional (EMEA) and territory level. Passionate about product and the people who are creating it, and in love with the creative process story-telling. The journey - and the destination. Developing and implementing strategies that allow sustainable marketplace management and long-term success to give product a more relevant place in this world. Specialties: category merchandising - product management - product creation - GTM strategy & planning - leadership - team management - business planning - project management - market transitions - consumer insights - data analysis - trends - creative briefs - engaging presentations - work with culturally diverse stakeholders - understanding of diverse markets and consumers across global and regional lenses
Amplify Vans story telling to segment, differentiate and energize the EMEA marketplace with new and innovative product creation. Focus on the Vans EMEA consumer and trends – in collaboration with the Vans EMEA Merchandising teams. Manage and grow the RPC team members to achieve their personal and professional goals. Strategic & Key Accounts differentiation : • Ensure EMEA strategic account differentiation via amplifying seasonal Consideration Stories/Channel Plays. • Prioritize Vans DTC, FLE, JD and Zalando as key growth drivers. • Support other local key account needs for specific exclusive programs – Courir/Snipes/AW Lab/Office/Schuh. • Deliver flawless process across all RPC components. • Communicate effectively process related topics to internal (DTC/Sales/Marketing teams) & external counterparts (collaboration partners/KA buying teams). • Align RPC team with EMEA Merchandising teams to focus assortments according to seasonal Consideration Stories/Channel Plays. • Optimize Quick-To-Market programs – focusing on Apparel EMEA sourcing facilities. • Ensure business reliability and margin requirements. • Facilitate X-category integration: Footwear/Apparel/Accessories approach in mind. Consumers and trends focus : • Own the Vans EMEA consumer profile, in connection with Vans DTC, FLE, JD and Zalando. • Translate marketplace trends into comprehensive reports to be used by EMEA Merchandising teams – across Footwear/Apparel/Accessories. • Drive energy on the marketplace through Energy programs and/or Collaborations, keeping in mind full alignment with EMEA Merchandising teams. • Enable the RPC team to anticipate trends and consumer shifts with compelling story telling.
Own and champion the EMEA footwear department and product team (product managers, product line coordinator and product designer) including overall strategic direction and product line management. This includes business plan development, concept/product briefing, cross-functional team leadership, distribution strategies, strategic and key accounts management, sales and margin accountability – all with a relevant focus on the EMEA Vans consumer and competition (current/future) within each unique EMEA territory and distribution channel. - Outlines category direction and consistently evaluates for relevancy and new opportunities on a EMEA basis - Acts in setting, analyzing and driving organizational and category goals - Works seamlessly with marketing and sales partners to develop and maximize the footwear category seasonal initiatives and distribution strategies - Evaluates current business processes to identify improvements and leverage infrastructure - Attends strategic and key account meetings, trade shows, market visits for presentations, relationship building, and trend/market research - Initiates and leads seasonal product briefs and design process - Encourages and maintains constant communication and feedback amongst all organizational partners - Partners closely with Vans retail to maximize brand/category presentation and drive sales - Partners closely with sales organization to meet and exceed mutual goals - Understands and embraces industry, consumer, and culture – including Vans competitive positioning
Etnies / eS Skateboarding / Emerica / Altamont / Thirty-Two Snowboarding Mission : to ensure that the Global Apparel offering of our collections are reflecting appropriately the demands of our European consumers in terms of price, quality and styling. - Be the European voice to the US based Apparel Product Team. - Ensure that our inline apparel collections meet the demands of the European market and consumer. - Participate in seasonal line plan meetings at WHQ. - Manage and lead the product briefing process to fulfill the European market and consumer needs for all brands. - Organize and execute seasonal collection review meetings with key European distributors, country managers, sales managers and US based merchandisers. - Manage the Apparel SMU business in coordination with US and Europe based production teams, including the processing of all European Apparel SMU requests from Distributors and Key Retailers. - Involvement in establishing an Amsterdam based Design and Merchandising team.
Provide leadership and product line management for all sides of the Apparel merchandising process for Tennis, Brand Jordan and the Basketball categories. - Create and communicate the vision for the Tennis, Brand Jordan and Basketball categories in EMEA. - Define product positioning and create categories constructs and line plans to drive the business. - Serve as the category spokesperson at all design reviews, product hand-overs to countries teams, sales meetings and product engines integrated meetings. - Create impact with presentations to develop my categories and sell-in the product. - Be a key player in strategic accounts sell-in process.
Each season, provide energy and differentiation tools for strategic accounts (Courir, Athletes World, El Corte Ingles) within the Special Make-Up program. - Create, develop and execute relevant Footwear stories for strategic accounts, in alignment with their markets and consumers. - Set-up business targets and revenue efficiency by controlling the product creation process. - Elevate sell-in process with high-level presentations and product expertise. - Align with strategic account sales teams to provide a fully integrated business plan. - Manage the product creation process from product brief to commercialization.
Buying Groups Intersport-Sport2000 - Build selected assortments for buying groups, within the Nike France sales strategy. - Define the sell-in process to ensure growth targets ( pre-lines, National offices relationship, sales plans ) - Manage the account portfolio and be the account expert ( deliveries, prop opportunities, discount management )
To initiate and create a Team Sports strategy and Business Model for France Soccer Strikers and Team Sports Specialists. - Provide the Team Sales force with the best tools to ensure seasonal growth (pricing strategy, product availability, catalogues, sample sets). - Be the country stakeholder for the Team Sports strategy. - Be the voice of Nike France in Europe to build the Nike EMEA Teamsports strategy.
Be the gate keeper of Merchandising, Recruiting, Reporting, Sell-Through and
I am pleased to recommend Laurent for a senior merchandising role. Having had the opportunity to work closely with him in the EMEA market at Nike, I can confidently speak to his exceptional product expertise and passion for sport and culture. His deep understanding of footwear, coupled with his ability to connect with the consumer at a meaningful level, sets him apart in the industry. Laurent brings a wealth of experience from his time at Adidas, Vans, and other action sport brands, where he has consistently demonstrated strong capabilities in both merchandising and product creation. His strategic thinking and ability to drive processes end-to-end make him a standout team player who excels in delivering results. He has an innate ability to balance creativity with commercial acumen, ensuring that product lines resonate with the market while meeting business objectives. Laurent is not only adept at navigating complex product portfolios but also excels in fostering collaboration and building strong cross-functional relationships. His commitment to excellence and his proactive approach to problem-solving have made him an invaluable asset to our team. Given his track record and skill set, I believe Laurent would be a tremendous hire at grade 45/50. His ability to lead, inspire, and deliver makes him an excellent fit for any Nike team looking to strengthen its merchandising and product creation capabilities. I highly recommend Laurent without reservation.