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Open to Permanent

Mark Poole

Over 15 years experience of Business Development and Operations within the luxury sector
Portfolio website
About

A commercially savvy, highly organised, analytical and passionate professional with over 15 years' experience in B2B consultative business development, sales and revenue growth within the premium / luxury retail and hospitality sectors. Comfortable operating at all levels; from cold-calling prospects to shaking the hand of a CEO when closing a new deal. In the pre-pandemic period: - Exceeded my sales target for new retail leases by 34% at Hammerson-owned shopping centres. - Renewed 94% of expiring leases.

Previous Brands
Agent Provocateur
Hammerson Plc
I.Hennig & Co. Ltd.
Ouronyx
Various
Westfield Europe Ltd
Work Experience
Head Of Business Development
Feb ‘22 - Now
Ouronyx

"Ouronyx is a brand new facial aesthetics clinic built around the concept of less is more". Vogue

Business Consultant
Jun ‘21 - Jan ‘22
Various

New business development for several UK and US companies in the premium / luxury sector (NDA covered).

Business Development / Leasing Manager
Apr ‘19 - May ‘21
Hammerson Plc

Sole responsibility for the account management and leasing lifecycle of every luxury / premium brand across Hammerson's commercial real estate inventory (e.g. Bullring Birmingham, Brent Cross, Cabot Circus Bristol, Victoria Leeds, Bicester Village etc.) Accountable for the business plan strategy / objectives and curating a varied and appropriate tenant mix (from sole trader to PLC), resulting in growth of the overall revenue stream. In addition, I minimised void and real vacancy rates and identified acquisition opportunities to replace underperforming vendors. New leases / renewals signed included: All Saints / Amazon / Apple / Carvela / Christys' London / Cubitts / Dowsing & Reynolds / Fred Perry / Goldsmiths / H&M / Hugo Boss / Kate Spade / Kurt Geiger / Louis Vuitton / Mulberry / Peloton / Radley / Rolex / Seraphine / Sweaty Betty / Temperley London / Thomas Sabo / Vivienne Westwood / Whistles ●Managed B2B lease negotiations at C-suite level. Assessed business needs to understand concerns of trading patterns, footfall requirements, target demographic, security, adjacencies etc. and find appropriate leasing solutions. Working with the Asset and Insight teams, appropriate retail space / ancillary services were sourced and implemented using walk-through technology. ●Responsible for negotiation of Heads of Terms through to completion (in collaboration with the in house legal). Responsible for deal governance in lieu of regulation, legislation and RICS directives. ●Accountable for numerical reporting and budgeting on specific assets, focusing on growing revenue and deliver real risk mitigation. ●In January 2020 I was approached by the Commercial Director at Hammerson to head up new business development. However the CV-19 pandemic saw this role benched as the Company sought to overcome severe leasing challenges. Throughout this challenging period for physical retail, my role was to negotiate with each brand, (at C-Suite level) to unlock non-payment of rent, by potentially offering incentives and / or renegotiation of existing terms.

Project Manager
Sep ‘18 - Apr ‘19
Agent Provocateur

Lead the 2019 Valentine's project to install circa 40 temporary Pop-up spaces within a well-known UK department store to quality, time, and resource parameters. Collaborated with internal Agent Provocateur teams and stakeholders, as well as liaised with the department store, all internal leads of critical areas inclusive of merchandising, press and logistics. Committed to being best in class with an diligence on brand execution, operational excellence and overall collaboration with brand partners.

Retail Relations / Mall Manager
Jul ‘14 - May ‘18
Westfield Europe Ltd

Responsible for strategic planning to drive turnover, footfall (local / national / international) and service delivery / operations at all luxury / premium vendors at Westfield. Managed the interface between Centre Management and retailers across all aspects of their business (retail sales, marketing, tourism, events etc.) Developed leadership experience by recruiting an enthusiastic team of three, developing their SMART goals and helping inspire them to dig deep for success. ●Developed business planning for the Westfield VIP Tourism card, database and CRM strategy, which involved securing key airlines and 'Golden Keys' hotel partners to drive in-bound tourism from Asia and the Middle East. This led to an uplift of 35% in Asian and 29% in Middle Eastern tourism in the launch year and featured on China TV (audience 85m). ●Key project management role within the Westfield omnichannel programme launch team; to scope, build and test best-in-class e-commerce technology and deliver true tech savvy product innovation. ●Driven key, incentivised relationships between Westfield and all four- and five-star hotels in London to drive traffic to luxury / premium retailers. ●Developed the 2016 'Make It Special' customer loyalty campaign, delivering an increase of the Westfield Trip Advisor rating from 3.5 to 4.5 in six months. ●Worked closely with Vogue, including the annual 'Gold Night Out' event, Naomi Campbell's 'Fashion for Relief' and consulting with retail brands to host in-store activations to drive store visitation and turnover. Instrumental in securing the Vogue Café at Westfield London, to celebrate the magazines' centenary and ensuring successful amplification and conversion via Westfield channels. ●Designed a business / operations model (with full P&L management) and oversaw the planning and opening of The Fashion Lounge, Westfield London's personal shopping and styling suite. This resulted in a first year 64% personal styling occupancy rate (including 25% international visitors), as well as product launches, trunk shows and corporate entertainment. ●Devised and delivered an innovative luxury training workshop to coach DS Automobiles sales personnel (Citroen's premium brand) worth £100K to the Westfield Commercial Partnerships team. ●Secured Windrush Storage (high-end automotive) as a tenant at Westfield London, leading to increased custom in The Village from ultra-high net worth European and Middle Eastern guests. ●Proven record of Duty Management, optimising my leadership skills to ensure the centre and associated infrastructure was managed safely / efficiently (with sustainability always in mind) and to help the retail teams, so enabling them to hit sales goals and continually deliver excellent standards in accordance with Westfield's internal tools and protocols. ●Produced and distributed insight reports to internal stakeholders, focusing on competitor activity, pricing, vendor trends, risk, consumer behaviour, customer service, tourist patterns, operations processes, vendor ranking, turnover reviews and online ordering vs. offline buying. ●Principle contact in building client relationships with luxury / premium vendors. Working at Retail / Brand Director / Head of Marketing level. Secured partnerships with those investing and building in the immediate area, such as BBC, Soho House, Net-a-Porter, Imperial College, University of the Arts.

Head of Sales and Marketing
Sep ‘06 - Mar ‘14
I.Hennig & Co. Ltd.

The world's oldest and largest international diamond-brokering consultancy with seven offices in EMEA, US and APAC; the firm represents the majority of the 78 global clients who purchase rough diamonds from De Beers' Diamond Trading Company (DTC). The Company offers 360' business solutions; procurement, marketing, sales, NPD, product manufacturing, emerging markets analysis, finance, and recruitment services; annual sales of $50M and 50 staff. Developed new business with premium and luxury brands for our precious jewellery manufacturing clients (all De Beers 'Sightholders'), Clients based in Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, Antwerp, New York, London and new deals could be either a manufacturing or a licensing contract. Successes included, Maybach Cars, Stella McCartney, Missoni. Vivienne Westwood, Jil Sander, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton.

Languages
English - Native
London, UK