Azhelle Wade

● Business Development: Senior Brand Manager responsible for the financial growth of the million-dollar girls arts & crafts brand, BMe. Conducts market research and analysis to determine a product release business plan that aligns with social trends and client needs.
● Product Development: Maintains daily communication between domestic and foreign team members to quickly and efficiently develop high value product at a competitive price. Leads new product ideation and sees concepts through the entire development cycle from initial approval, client presentations, packaging design, product testing,
costing and production.
● Design: Established a fresh modern look for BMe and led a team of domestic and foreign designers to roll out the new and approved branding across over 100 items. Re-designed existing product artwork and introduced high end illustration and graphic styles to elevate the overall brand look and feel.
● Brand Strategy: With the guidance of comments from both the VP and company clients, developed a direction for the brand which is communicated via thoughtful product segmentation, graphic bursts, foil treatments, and brand statements.

* Product Development: Created new product concepts based on quarterly market research & trends. Produced smart product and packaging concepts capable of presenting fewer products at a higher perceived value, resulting in higher profit margins. Arranged focus groups and product review questionnaires to measure consumer interest in new ideas. * Market Research & Analysis: Performed quarterly in-store reviews of craft products at Jo-Ann's stores, Hobby Lobby, AC Moore, Michaels, Walmart, & Target highlighting market gaps and analyzing competitor offerings. * Company Expansion: Conceptualized and designed "The Button Artist", an 18-SKU new product line. It has generated over $140,000 in its 17 weeks on shelves and over $9,000 in weekly sales. Routinely presented and developed new product concepts to expand company portfolio. Introduced a new subscription based product concept to generate rolling income utilizing excess button inventory. Blumenthal Lansing (cont.)

Girls World * Product Development: Initiates and manages all product development for the global private brand, Totally Me! Analyzes past sales to find "sweet spots" and uncover consistencies in best-selling price points, components, and packaging to influence sourcing decisions. Works closely with domestic and foreign team members to ensure products meet international testing standards, negotiate costs, and maintain the production schedule. Manage two to three seasons of the Totally Me! brand at multiple stages of development simultaneously. * Brand Development: Partnered with the Brand Manager and defined new segments to re-focus Totally Me!'s craft categories. Revitalize the brand by seasonally introducing products with higher value components and colorful kid-friendly instruction manuals. Consistently works to maintain a balance between traditional crafts and unique trend focused kits. Attend photo shoots for all new product and assure the features and benefits of each item are clearly communicated in packaging photography. * Design Management: Provide creative direction and design for the following global private brands Journey Girls, Just Like Home, You & Me, and Totally Me! Responsible for the execution of all design projects including but not limited to product design, stickers and deco design, color guides, storyboards, patterns, and some doll fashions. Organize and prioritize design team projects for multiple seasons. * Team Development: Supports the growth and development of the Assistant Design Manager with guidance and encouragement through challenging projects. Established a collaborative environment between the product design and packaging design team-members by introducing and a monthly creative brainstorm session. * Team Awards: Journey Girls dolls were awarded the 2016 Oppenheim Platinum toy award.