Claudia Katrin Bücken
Since January 2025, I have been the Founder & Managing Director of RETAIL EXCELLENCE (www.retailexcellence.ch), an independent consultancy specialising in strategic retail management, operational excellence, and leadership development. I support companies in optimising sales performance, structures, and customer experience through innovative retail concepts, KPI-driven management, and tailored coaching solutions. In my previous position as Head of Retail and Member of the Extended Management Board at BELDONA AG, I was responsible for leading and managing 62 stores and outlets across Switzerland with a total of 320 employees. In this role, I made a significant contribution to optimising business processes and increasing operational efficiency, achieving measurable results in both sales growth and cost management. With over 20 years of experience in retail management and extensive expertise in sales strategy, team leadership, and P&L responsibility, I am focused on implementing sustainable, customer-oriented, and performance-driven solutions. My cooperative leadership style, analytical mindset, and goal-oriented approach enable me to effectively drive both the operational and strategic objectives of an organisation. I currently have availability for new mandates or freelance projects, and I am also open to exploring permanent opportunities where I can contribute my passion for retail excellence, leadership, and transformation.
- Founder of RETAIL EXCELLENCE (www.retailexcellence.ch), offering consulting services in retail transformation, digital business management, and leadership development - Driving operational excellence and sustainable growth
- Responsability for 3 golf courses in Sempach, Kyburg, Basel - Professional management of the facilities - Game operations and tournament organization - Coordination of pros and golf academy - Establishment of a new performance centre (Indoor)
- Overall management and retail management of all Beldona stores and outlets (62 POS) - Responsibility for sales and personnel (320 employees) - Leadership and development of 5 regional sales managers - Budget & P&L responsibility, improved KPI performance - Implementation of retail omnichannel concepts, "store of the future", project management - Planning new store locations I Pop-Up Stores - Retail marketing activities & promotion strategies - Led transformation process towards a Best-in-Class Multi-Channel Organization Personal Highlights: - in economic difficult situation savings in personnel costs of 0.5 Mio. CHF in 2023 (reduction of temporary employees, reorganization Retail Organisation) - increase of turnover of 0.5 Mio. CHF in 2023 (offering Personal Shopping Appointments, Vip Events, Warehouse sales to reduce old stock, Renting for 0.- CHF promotional areas in centers to gain new clients and reduce old stock - KPI Improvement in all stores by integrating new tools (Store development plan, Weekly Tracker, Scoreboard in Store etc.) - Improve Best Practice & Retail Exellence by training colleagues to encourage and challenge them
- Management of 17 boutiques & outlets, corners in department stores ca. 100 employees - Responsibility for all Swiss operations incl. legal & mandatory compliancies of all point of sales, sales & profit, personnel recruitment, planning & costs - Implementation of new omnichannel processes - KPI-Management, sales control & retail process optimization - Action and promotion plans to exceed the objectives - Ensuring sufficient stock, implementation of correct marketing promotions at the POS incl. VM - Close collaboration with Munich HQ for Dach/-Scan projects Personnel Highlights: - Team Leadership - Strong Team Building Team Switzerland - support & learn from each other, Best Practice to develop competences, intensive exchange between store manager and myself – digitally every two weeks - Increase of turnover; optimization of the warehouse to serve more efficiently and quickly - Doubling of the optical recruitment rate (CRM) in Switzerland through targeted training - Integration of Personal Shopping Appointments - Increase +10% turnover in month of PSA - Lecture in front of 300 people on Retail Excellence at Retail Forum Lacoste - Visit of all CEO's Lacoste Europe - offer an exceptional service - Goodie Bag with crocodile cookies and a crocodile cookie cutter - CEO were so fascinated, that for X-Mas crocodile cookies were being offered to clients
- Overall management and retail management of 47 sales outlets for the k Kiosk, Press & Books and Avec brands - Support and management of own outlets and coaching of agency partners in the Central Switzerland region - Ensuring optimal sales space - Implementation of product range and visual merchandising concepts - Opening of new sales outlets
- Overall management and retail management of 16 stores throughout Switzerland (superstores and outlets); in three languages: German, English, French - Overall responsibility for approximately 70 employees (including recruitment, hiring, development and management) - Lead for company events (internal/external) - Organisation of annual demo days - Organisation and coordination of annual mystery shopping - Project management for new store openings and renovations - Responsibility for shopfitting, warehousing and inventory - Introduction of golf simulators - Complaints management - Deputy to the CEO - Budgeting, sales reporting, KPI tracking - Management, coaching and control of branches with regard to sales, margins, promotions and costs - Taking and implementing sales promotion measures - Responsibility for training/education and reviewing the knowledge levels of sales staff - Market/competitor analyses, both nationally and internationally - Implementation of corporate strategy - Lease negotiations - Assistance with product range selection/ensuring POS sales promotion
Responsibilities: see Head of Retail
- Management of 13 Aperto convenience stores (branches) in German-speaking Switzerland - Personnel responsibility, including management and recruitment of branch managers and employees - Preparation of forecasts and budgets for the branches - Sales and cost control, as well as initiation and implementation of corrective measures in the event of deviations from the budget - Ongoing optimisation of branch processes - Responsibility for inventory - Responsibility for the interior and exterior appearance of the store - Training of junior management; leading and coaching branch managers (BM), training BM and core teams - Planning, organisation and implementation of new store openings - Participation in projects and meetings - Monitoring market developments (through experience in own markets and observation of competitors)
- Management of all golf operations - Organisation and management of national and international tournaments and events - Professional organisation of the secretariat - Support/assistance for the executive board, board of directors and committees (organisation, coordination, minute-taking at meetings) - Finance: Independent execution of accounting, including audit discussions, preparation of annual budgets, maintenance of the share register - Personnel responsibility, including management and recruitment of 15 employees - Internet presence, public relations, communication work - Member admission/administration/support - Sponsorship and cooperation projects - Representation of the club
- Management of the golf club, including the secretarial office, pro shop, greenkeeping, restaurant and cleaning departments - Organisation and management of all games and tournaments, including prize distributions - Definition of the pro shop's product range (purchasing, determination of sales prices) - Supporting/assisting the board and committees - Finance: invoice control, dunning, monitoring compliance with the annual budget, maintaining the share register, managing lease agreements - Personnel responsibility, including management and recruitment of 25 employees - Member admission/administration/support - Member acquisition and sale of memberships - Website, public relations, communications, production of the club's internal magazine ‘Rheinblick-Info’ - Representation of the club
- Office organisation, bookkeeping, minute-taking - Handling day-to-day business - Supervising and organising tournaments and events - Member admission/administration/support - Member acquisition and membership sales - Public relations, communications, production of the club's internal magazine ‘Golfpark Meerbusch News’ - Representing the club