1. Curriculum Vitae
Of
Shehara Mendis
Skills Summary  Ability to understand customer requirements & needs
 Excellent communication skills.
 Excellent analytical & interpersonal skills.
 The ability to adapt speedily to changing environments
 Practical knowledge in MS Office, Excel and Word.
ProfessionalExperience
Senior Buying Merchandiser - Marks & Spencer March 2013 to date
Lingerie & Beauty
Accountability:
 In coordination with Buying manager & planning agree & set yearly/ seasonal buying
budgets in line with the business taking into account sales history & varied markets
and their requirements. Actively chase stock & drive sales to ensure every effort is
made to secure COR
 Ensure the right products are bought in the right quantity & right size keeping in mind
historical sales, peak trading periods, customer profile, trends and store grading / RPF
in order to maximize full price sales & minimize COR. Orders should be in line with
set budgets & OTB reflected on the WSSI to achieve optimal cover targets.
 Pricing & margin to be done in line with business strategy / pricing structure. Same
need to be reviewed every season or when required to ensure that we are in line with
competition prices. Product group margins need to be signed off with buying manager
prior to launch
 Ensure clear communication is maintained at all times with merchandising team,
principal and all other business functions such as store ops, visual merchandising,
warehouse & marketing so as to ensure various planned activities run smoothly

2.  Develop & motivate team through coaching & training to ensure they perform their
respective tasks with utmost efficiency & accuracy in order to achieve department &
business objectives
Buying Merchandiser- Marks & Spencer May 2008 to Feb 2013
Lingerie June 2011 to February 2013
Ladies wear (formal) - May 2008 to June 2011
Key Functions & Accountability:
Buying / Managing budgets & Stocks / Pricing & Margins / Liaising with principal & stores
 Buying the right products in the right quantities & ratio for the GCC region based on
historical data, good better best category & price structure, new & flow product group
requirements, business growth, customer profile & lessons learnt & feedback.
 Buying according to the agreed budgets to support the stock & cover plans for each
season ensuring correct depth of stock is available for launch & build back within the
season.
 Said buying to be done according to accurate grading/options plan set or agreed at the
beginning of every season based on each store layout & equipment count.
 Working with principal to develop region specific products to meet Gulf customer
requirements
 Ensuring credible ranges are built through accurate buying & order tracking for timely
launch & availability
 Discuss & agree sales growth percentage & mix % with line manager for each
phase/season throughout the year and reviewing same at key stages to gauge impact
any changes may cause to the stock cover, cost of reduction plan & stores
 Once catalogues are completed update & maintain budget documents on spends /
OTB ensuring accurate weekly sales & stock inventory (WSSI) is accurate which
links into the COR plan
 Pricing all products in line with company policy prior to each season launch &
tabulating the margins. Results to be reviewed & exercise to be repeated if margins
are too low/high
 Review margins regularly throughout the year & margin analysis to be done before
any price change is actioned.
 Conduct regular competitive shopping exercise to compare prices & look out for any
missed opportunities within our ranges

3.  Ensuring accurate data is recorded & readily available on all business systems /order
file & reports such as Forward Estimates / WSSI / Budget sheet / Range Analysis
 Liaising with Visual & Marketing teams to deliver accurate availability for all
advertising campaigns & launches
 Liaising with stores to capture customer feedback for each season & agreed on space
& option planning
 Ensuring excess stock deliveries & RTM’s are highlighted to the principal & claimed
for at the end of each season
 Work with logistics teams to prioritise shipments / orders
 Stock Champion for new store opening:
Responsible for opening the store with 100% stock availability across all
business units ensuring sufficient back up stock is available back stage to go
through first couple of days without any gaps on the shop floor.
Continue to monitor stock availability for 1-3 months till sales stabilize
Coordinate with our BU merchandisers to make sure ranges catalogued are
current & enough options/ways plus singles are allocated according to agreed
floor plans
Work with VM & Marketing team on store décor / PR for the launch
Coordinating with the warehouse team to ensure stock is delivered in a timely
& organized manner.
Making sure all critical path dates are met by all parties involved
4 ½ years work experience at Brandix Apparel / Brandix CasualwearLtd
Senior Merchandiser – Brandix
CasualwearLtd
April 2006 – June 2007
Was responsible for – M&S (Ladies wear – Woven)
Core functions were: Product Development on T54 ladies casual bottoms & T58 ladies
classics bottoms
Responsibilities include:
 Over seeing both Casual & Classic departments product development.
 Liaising with customer directly on cost price & order confirmation.
 Communicating and regularly updating Buyer on critical path’s for each phase.
 Meeting customer deadlines where sampling & costing is concerned.
 Presenting innovation & value addition or giving the customer “newness” in product.
 Ensuring allocated factory capacity is filled.
 Working towards achieving quarterly & yearly financial budgets

4. Merchandiser– Brandix Apparel Ltd September 2002 – March
2006
Accounts Include:
M&S – Men’s wear / Ladies wear – Woven casual / lounge / swim wear bottoms
Core functions were: Product Development - sampling & costing / Operations – order
execution.
Product Development (since Jan 2004 to-Jun 2007)
Responsibilities included:
 Costing all seasonal styles and ensuring the best price is offered to the buyer.
 Handling all sample developments.
 Liaising with customer directly on developments & cost price.
 Working together with in-house designers in order to add more value to existing
products & introducing new products.
 Working with Embellishment plants on new techniques.
 Liaising with washing plant to develop & introduce new washes / finishes to
customer.
 Working closely with fabric mills / trim suppliers to ensure capacity is reserved for
bulk orders & negotiating best price.
 Ensuring all customer quality standards are met at all stages of development leading
to bulk.
 Working closely with the Operations team to ensure order handover takes place
smoothly.
Operations / Order execution (Sep 2002- Dec 2003)
Responsibilities included:
 Worked towards time & action plan to ensure all customer & factory deadlines were
met.
 Liaised with customer directly on matters pertaining to bulk.
 Order placing with factory and monitoring production to see that shipments were on
time.
 Liaised with Quality Team to ensure customer quality / compliance standards were
met.
 Worked with fabric / trim suppliers in order to meet production slots.
 Worked closely with Printing & Embroidery plants on bulk approvals.

5. Merchandiser – Hemas Garments
Pvt Ltd (Hela Clothing)
Sep 1999 – Aug 2002
Accounts Handled – (Knitwear)
BHS, Tesco, Woolworths, Next, Principals, Dorothy Perkins, Ethel Austin, George,
Responsibilities included:
 Liaised with the Factory and Buyer/Buying office on all issues pertaining to Pre
production, production and Post Production.
 Ordering all fabric & trims & ensuring all stocks are in-house prior to production.
 Was responsible for Fabric ordering and controlling of all fabric liabilities in Factory.
 Was responsible for all Trim liabilities.
 Liaised with Production & Quality Team to ensure buyer’s quality standards were met
by the factories & all garment delivery dates were met.
 Was responsible for Time & Action calendar for all styles in production and ensuring
all deadlines were met.
 Was responsible for all developments & sourcing all trims/fabric for bulk.
 Ensured all sample developments were executed perfectly on the given deadlines.
 Worked on all development costing.
 Worked with Printing / Embroidery plants on developments as well as bulk orders.
Education
 Currently studying for Associate Diploma Trinity College London (ATCL) in speech &
drama ( performers )
 Certificate in Business Management ( PCBM ) conducted by Worldview Global Institute
 Diploma in MS office packages conducted by National Institute of Information
Technology ( NIIT )
 Followed a course in Scientific Counseling conducted by the Family Studies & Services
Institute, Colombo.
 Preliminary education at St Bridget’s Convent, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka.

6. Achievements
 Distinction passes up to grade 9 in Spoken English conducted by Institute of Western
Music & Speech Sri Lanka (IWMS).
 Distinction passes in Spoken English Advanced Finals (graded 10-12) conducted by
Trinity College London.
 Bronze , Silver & Gold Medals in Speaking of Verse & Prose conducted by the London
Academy of Music & Dramatic Art ( LAMDA )
Personaldata
Name : Shehara Mendis
Age : 34
Date of birth : 09th December 1980
Residence : Dubai, UAE
Contact detail : +97150 469 6617 (mobile)
Email – shey009@gmail.com
Religion : Roman Catholic
Civil status : Married
Referees:
Available upon request.