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Giorgia Biancato

Product & Merchandise Director
About

With over 20 years in fashion product management, I get all aspects of the job—design, product development, garment tech, planning, merchandising, buying and sourcing. I managed diverse product lines (apparel, leather goods, soft accessories, underwear) across wholesale, retail, digital - segments (Women's, Men’s, Kid’s) and Markets (EMEA; US; ASIA). I'm skilled in taking products from concept to production, ensuring they're high quality and market-ready. I'm committed to sustainability and ethical practices, keeping up with industry standards. I read the market, understand consumer behavior. I manage budgets and make decisions using KPIs. Skilled in Merchandise Planning, Retail buying and Allocation. Expert in defining processes and Go-to-Market (Global Master Calendar). In fast-paced settings, I juggle multiple projects and priorities effortlessly. I work well with teams, fostering good relationships and communication to inspire cross-functional collaboration.

Previous Brands
Original Marines S.p.A.
Gruppo Miroglio
BluMarine
Benetton Group
Cocosa
Sixty Group
Trussardi
Salvatore Ferragamo
STEFANEL
United Colors of Benetton
Work Experience
Product & Merchandising Director
Jan ‘24 -
Original Marines S.p.A.

In charge of Design & Product development, Collection Merchandising, Retail buying, Merchandise Planning & Allocation. Reporting to GM. Team of 30. Yearly Turnover €200M.

Head of Product & Design - Fiorella Rubino
Nov ‘20 - Dec ‘23
Gruppo Miroglio

In charge of Design & Product development. Reporting to Brand Director, team of 10. Responsible for a €96M business - company yearly Turnover €500M ACHIEVEMENTS: - 21% turnover increase in 2022 thanks to combined Product and Marketing strategy. - Kick-off new PLM and digital product creation process (CLO 3D). - Identified “style codes” to give greater identity to the brand, as core part of marketing BRAND BOOK. - Enhanced product coordinability, leading to +10% improved UPT

Global Merchandising Director
Feb ‘18 - Jun ‘20
BluMarine

Reporting to CEO. Yearly turnover €40M. Experience concluded due to the sale of the company to Liu Jo. ACHIEVEMENTS: - Collection efficiency: reduced cancellations from 25% to less than 10%. - Improved UPS by 30% resulting in easy-to achieve MOQ. - Improved %GP by 4 points uncompromising on product quality. - Created common cross-functional Seasonal Calendar with a Concept-to-Shelf approach.

Global Merchandise Planning Director (UCB, 012, Sisley Young, Undercolor)
Jun ‘14 - Feb ‘18
Benetton Group

Reporting to CMO, team of 30. Yearly turnover €1,400M Collection size: 12000+ SKC per season including RTW (7000SKC), accessories (1500SKC), underwear (4000SKC) ACHIEVEMENTS: - Implementation of Oracle RPAS - Implementation of a new visual planning tool powered by CORTEXICA for cross-functional usage (merchandise planning, buying, VM) - Optimized Concept-to-Shelf Process: differentiated collection lead time per product lifecycle (12 and 6 months), and shorter and simplified process for “Design Placeholders” (3 months). - New way of Line Planning, based on actual store size and fixtures capacity, rationalizing space to assortment. - Rationalized price structure to 6 price points per product category. - Improved profitability through pricing, to offset COGS increase & drive profitability. For 2017 collections, recovered ~40M€ margin gap vs. budget

Buying Director
Oct ‘12 - Jan ‘14
Cocosa

Cocosa, backed by Mohamed Al Fayed, was an exclusive online retailer offering luxury fashion and lifestyle brands at discounted prices through limited-time sales events. Reporting to CEO, team of 8. Yearly turnover £13M. Experience concluded when Mr Al Fayed decided to wind down the company. ACHIEVEMENTS: - 20+ new brands on board. - Exclusive agreement with Moda Operandi (worth $3,3 million at whls cost for SS13). - Increased first % sales margin by 11 points. - Increased turnover from £9M to £13M.

General Merchandising Manager
Jan ‘12 - Sep ‘12
Sixty Group

General Merchandising Manager Fashion Brands (Miss Sixty, Energie, Killah). Reporting to General Manager, team of 40. Yearly turnover €300M. Experience concluded due to company being acquired by chinese Trendy International Group.

Business Unit Director
Sep ‘07 - Dec ‘11
Trussardi

Reporting to CEO, team of 8. Total yearly turnover €23M. Experience concluded due to Tomaso Trussardi taking over the leadership of the company. ACHIEVEMENTS: - Doubled Division Turnover from €5M to €10M. - Business Unit Restructuring and Re-organization, 20% costs reduction. - Reviewed and optimized the Supply Chain (100% made in Italy), negotiated new T&C with Suppliers. - Updated and repositioned Trussardi as a luxury brand by mean of Trussardi 1911.

Merchandising Manager
Jan ‘04 - Aug ‘07
Salvatore Ferragamo

Reporting to Business Unit Director, team of 2. Responsible for €120M business (Group yearly turnover €650M).

Merchandising & Licensing Manager
Jun ‘99 - Dec ‘03
STEFANEL

Reporting to Sales Director, team of 2. Asia & Middle East - 45 pos. Company yearly turnover €230M.

Export Area Manager Killer Loop
Jan ‘96 - Jan ‘99
United Colors of Benetton

Languages
English - Fluent
French - Work Proficiency
Italian - Native
Education & Training
MIT SLOANE
‘20 - ‘20
MASTER
PRICING
ISTUD
‘95 - ‘96
MASTER
MARKETING AND SALES
CA FOSCARI VENICE
‘88 - ‘94
BACHELOR DEGREE
ECONOMICS
Venezia, IT