REBECCA SWEENEY
London
Summary
Dynamic and results-driven merchandising leader with 20+ years of experience driving commercial success for global retailers across multi-channel platforms. Proven expertise in developing & executing high impact merchandising strategies that align to business objectives, delivering sustained sales & profit growth. A commercially astute, trusted leader with a strong track record of influencing cross-functional stakeholders, building high-performing teams, & delivering results in fast-paced, evolving retail environments. Highly analytical, solutions-focused, & known for an inclusive, adaptive leadership style.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
Work history
Head of Sportswear
ASOS
London
2022.10 - 2025.11
- Responsible for overall performance, growth & profitability of the Sportswear division, driving best-in-class merchandising practices, tools & data driven decision making.
- Developed & executed Sportswear strategy aligned with wider business objectives, leading the implementation of short and long-term plans to meet financial targets, working collaboratively alongside Central Merchandising, Central Pricing, Finance, Marketing & Heads of Category. Sportswear continuously over indexed profit mix (25%) vs revenue mix (17%) & remained one of the most profitable areas of the business.
- Leveraged advanced analytics to shape strategic assortment, inventory & promotional decisions, maximising performance across 15 strategic brands, including Adidas & Nike.
- Commercial ownership alongside Head of Design of the own label Activewear brand 4505, delivering 40% sales growth & 50% profit growth in FY25, doubling mix to 15% of the Sportswear apparel business through strategic assortment, pricing & customer engagement.
- Established & strengthened strategic partnerships with brands & suppliers, providing clear commercial direction & fostering transparent collaboration.
- Provided direction and leadership to a cross-functional team, including Buyers, Merchandisers, Design and Analysts, to drive divisional success.
- Delivered regular performance & forward outlook updates to Executive Leadership, with actionable insights to maximise ROI.
- Led company flow performance governance & forward outlook analysis, providing strategic insight & recommendations to the Commercial VP.
Head of Merchandising: Venture Division
ASOS
London
2017.06 - 2022.09
- Co-created & launched ASOS’ first unisex Venture Division, housing own-label brands with a focus on speed-to-market, agile pricing, and inclusive, genderless product assortments.
- Responsible for driving the commercial strategy & performance of the Venture division driving growth through strategic planning, optimised product assortment & pricing, and agile in-season inventory management.
- Successfully conceptualised, developed & scaled Collusion, a global Gen Z brand, exceeding first year business expectations with £60m in first-year sales, achieving low markdown, high sell-through, and broad international customer reach.
- Led cross-functional relationships across Supply Chain, Marketing, & Commercial teams to ensure a seamless brand launch.
- Built & led a high-performing Merchandising function, scaling from 10 to 20 team members, fostering innovation & challenging traditional merchandising practices.
- Established a speed-to-market supply base, onboarding 6 UK and European suppliers aligned to the strategic vision & collaborative ways of working.
- Led Asos Womenswear pricing & promotional activity from weekly trade to major clearance periods, driving profitable sell-through, through in-depth performance analysis & agile decision-making.
Snr Merchandiser: Own Buy Evening Dresses
ASOS
London
2014.03 - 2017.05
- Led ASOS’ largest Own Buy category (20% of total mix), setting & delivering the merchandising strategy for Woven & Jersey Evening Dresses, delivering FY16 sales of £250m, achieving record year-on-year growth while reducing markdown exposure.
- Set & executed forward-looking inventory & trade strategies to mitigate elevated returns, optimising inventory levels & protecting profitability through date-led decision making.
- Identified & delivered a new growth opportunity through the launch of Asos Wedding & Bridesmaids, leveraging customer, market & competitor insight to generate £9m in incremental FY16 revenue.
- Led the planning & trading of total Asos Wedding & Bridesmaid across own label & brands, reporting to the Womenswear Director.
Merchandiser to Est Merchandiser
Miss Selfridge
London
2010.01 - 2014.01
- Led the largest department across Woven Dresses, Tops & Separates delivering sustained growth through strategic range optimization & market aligned price architecture, improving sell-through & materially reducing markdown exposure.
- Defined & scaled the Petite department over 3 years, delivering 50% profit growth & increasing the Petite mix to 15% of total brand sales, and significantly reduced markdown dependency. Expanded Petite’s physical presence from 50% to 75% of stores.
Assistant Merchandiser
Miss Selfridge
London
2006.01 - 2010.01
Merchandise Assistant
Arcadia
London
2004.01 - 2006.01
Education
B.A (Hons) - Economics
University of Newcastle
NewcastleSkills
- Merchandising & Commercial Strategies
- Assortment Planning Optimisation
- Inventory Management
- Brand Creation, Launch & Scale Up
- Customer-Led Decision Making
- Market Research & Analysis
- Key Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration
- High Performance Team Leadership
Timeline
Head of Sportswear
ASOS
2022.10 - 2025.11
Head of Merchandising: Venture Division
ASOS
2017.06 - 2022.09
Snr Merchandiser: Own Buy Evening Dresses
ASOS
2014.03 - 2017.05
Merchandiser to Est Merchandiser
Miss Selfridge
2010.01 - 2014.01
Assistant Merchandiser
Miss Selfridge
2006.01 - 2010.01
Merchandise Assistant
Arcadia
2004.01 - 2006.01
B.A (Hons) - Economics
University of Newcastle