Exceeded projections for store level results by improving performance of existing stores and opening 100+ new stores for leading retailers including Esprit, The Body Shop, Aritzia, Geox, Canopy Growth and others; Consistent focus on building success through store level training and development
Strong network of connections across multiple business models and commodities, from iconic Canadian organizations to global retailers
Experience across retail, wholesale, corporate and franchise models across Canada from store to executive level; Consistent focus on building strong relationships across cross functional departments including store operations, product, distribution and supply chain, marketing, HR, and others
Continued focus on success within Canada’s retail sector at all levels, across multiple formats, commodities and geographies
Successfully opened 100+ stores across every province in Canada; Built region to #1 in Canada for an iconic Canadian brand and kept it there for five consecutive years; Drove Canada to #1 country in the world for a global retailer in 14 months; Successfully planned and started the build out of a brand new retail organization for one of the world’s largest cannabis companies – and did it in 5 months
Fashion, cannabis, health & beauty, retail, wholesale, franchise – the ways to describe Miriam’s credentials in Canadian retail just keep coming, but they all have one theme in common – growth and change. She has successfully moved wholesalers into retail, expanded established retailers into new geographies, and designed and built entire retail organizations from the ground up. With an unparalleled track record for successfully building retail growth, Miriam has exactly the experience needed to find great retail leaders in today’s turbulent marketplace.
She started her retail career with a Canadian designer who had a wholesale and retail business. Building on the retail skills she developed there, Miriam moved to Esprit Canada as Regional Manager, assisting their move into retail by successfully opening and operating stores across Canada. Joining The Body Shop as a Franchise Consultant, Miriam was quickly promoted to Director of Franchising and Leasing, and then to Director of Corporate Operations to replicate her franchise success in corporate stores across the country. After then joining The Gap as Regional Manager responsible for the 6th largest region in North America, Miriam focused on building strong relationships between store operations, internal cross functional teams, and partners. The results included significantly increased profitability and the highest reduction in shrink in North America.
Moving on to the iconic Aritzia retail organization as Regional Manager in Eastern Canada, Miriam’s success in shoring up existing stores while also opening new ones resulted in her promotion to Director of Retail for Eastern Canada within 4 months. Her Region consistently exceeded projections and continued to operate as the highest performing region in Canada for five consecutive years. As Director of Corporate Operations, North America, Miriam then helped develop and implement successful long term growth plans for brands, stores, infrastructure and people across the organization. Moving on to Geox as Director of Retail, Canada, Miriam moved Canada to the #1 position across the world for this global retailer, aligning wholesale and retail operations and building their ecommerce business to become a true omni-channel organization.
When Canada’s newest retail commodity, cannabis, was legalized, Miriam was at the forefront as Head of Retail, Canada for Canopy Growth, one of the world’s largest cannabis companies. As their first retail hire, Miriam started with a blank slate to plan and build out their retail organization from store leasing and design/build to licensing, supply chain and inventory, retail infrastructure and talent.
Since that point, Miriam has brought her retail expertise to bear for a variety of retail organizations as an independent consultant in areas ranging from store operations to supply chain, distribution and ecommerce, and product innovation. Miriam joined JRoss Retail Recruiters in early 2022 and is now leveraging her extensive experience and connections to help retailers in eastern Canada find other retail leaders.