Ceyda Ucan
Istanbul
Summary
Seasoned Fashion Buying & Merchandising Professional with over a decade of international experience shaping collections and commercial strategies across global markets. Skilled in leading end-to-end product strategy, sourcing, and market development, with a strong focus on quality, craftsmanship, and brand integrity. Combines creative thinking with data-led insight to build collections that perform commercially, connect with audiences, and elevate brand impact globally.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
2
2
Languages
Work History
Global Selection Manager
Trendol Group
04.2021 - 03.2025
- Conduct thorough market research, analyze industry trends, and identify target customer profiles to inform product selection strategies. Utilize data-driven insights to forecast demand, optimize inventory levels, and ensure the availability of trending and seasonal apparel items.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including designers, buyers, and planning and zone poc's, to create comprehensive assortments that cater to diverse customer segments. Leverage consumer insights, historical sales data, and market analysis to curate collections that meet customer demands and drive sales growth.
- Develop and implement inventory control strategies to minimize stockouts, reduce excess inventory, and maximize profitability. Utilize inventory management systems and tools to track product performance, monitor sell-through rates, and make data-informed decisions for stock replenishment and markdowns.
- Foster effective communication and collaboration across departments, working closely with sales, marketing, and operations teams to align apparel selection with promotional campaigns, marketing initiatives, and operational capabilities. Coordinate product launches and contribute to cross-functional projects to enhance the overall customer experience.
- Develop and maintain key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate the success of apparel selection strategies. Regularly analyze sales data, monitor category performance, and generate insightful reports to identify areas for improvement, capitalize on emerging opportunities, and drive profitability.
Senior Buyer
New Look Turkey
04.2021 - 03.2025
- Responsible for managing and coordinating collection development, purchasing, performance tracking, trading activities within Private Label.
- Identify and source apparel products that align with the company's brand image and target market, ensuring a diverse and appealing product assortment.
- Conduct market research to identify emerging fashion trends, analyze competitor offerings, and stay updated on industry developments.
- Establish and maintain relationships with apparel suppliers, negotiate contracts, and secure favorable pricing and terms to optimize profitability.
- Collaborate closely with planning, merchandising, and marketing to develop effective product strategies, promotional campaigns, and pricing strategies.
- Analyzing sales data, customer feedback, and market trends to make informed decisions regarding product assortment, pricing, and inventory management.
- Monitoring inventory levels, tracking product performance, and identifying slow-moving or outdated items, taking necessary actions to optimize inventory turnover and minimize stockouts.
- Ensure compliance with quality standards, ethical sourcing practices, and regulatory requirements related to producing and distributing apparel products.
- Providing leadership and guidance to junior buying specialists, overseeing their work, and sharing industry knowledge and best practices to foster professional growth within the team.
Senior International Account Manager
Trendol Group
04.2021 - 03.2025
- Managed cross-dock, dropship, and retail models, overseeing full account operations, including sales tracking, pricing, profitability, and financial management. Aligned product-level strategies with market demands across diverse fashion and non-fashion segments. Developed and executed sales-driven campaigns and promotional events to boost revenue.
- Strategic Market Penetration & Sales Growth: Conducted comprehensive market analysis and competitive benchmarking to identify opportunities for revenue optimization and sales expansion. Leveraged regional expertise to tailor strategies for the Russian, MENA, and European markets, delivering personalized customer experiences that catered to regional needs.
- Partner and Account Relationship Management: Built and nurtured long-term partnerships with international stakeholders, negotiating contracts and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Strengthened partner engagement through data-driven insights, performance tracking, and personalized strategies. Held weekly online meetings with partners to discuss operational details and closely monitor key KPIs, including revenue and profitability, ensuring alignment and continuous improvement. Optimized workflows and implemented lean processes to ensure seamless transitions for partners and enhance operational effectiveness.
- Onboarding/Offboarding Process: Led contract negotiations to establish mutually beneficial terms, while ensuring compliance and efficiency. Managed the E2E onboarding and offboarding processes for new and existing partners, ensuring alignment with company standards.
- Tech Integration & E-Commerce Optimization: Spearheaded digital transformation projects, aligning business operations with platform capabilities. Implemented best practices for seamless tech integration, including technical mapping for each website and category, ensuring structured product listings and optimized platform performance.
Senior Product & ProductionMerchandiser
New Look Turkey
07.2018 - 04.2021
- Managing all the product development, costing, sourcing, planning and pre-production needs of the Dresses, Tops, Bottoms and Going Out departments under the Soft Separates heading titled account for New Look.
- Fully responsible for the new products from scratch by one-to-one communication to design and buying teams on the Brand side. Following up the whole processes directly with manufactures and the mills with close relations.
- Handling the new quality sourcings ( from yarn, fabric, accessory to R&D items ), cross costing, price negotiations, capacity plans, stock managements, leadtime plannings alongside following the fashion trends on market and visit suppliers to provide most efficient market intelligence to buying teams.
- Monitoring the production by actively catching up with the production team to ensure on-time shipments are achieved.
Merchandiser
Turkmen Holding
03.2016 - 05.2018
- Garment Development and Production Management
- ATT Clothing is one of the leading womenswear manufacturers in Turkey, specialising in premium woven and jersey garment design, and production services.
- Managing ongoing orders at production and follow-up manufacturer factory organisations alongside following up the development samples; at the accounts handling.
- Working in close relations with other departments and factories as in a team member state of mind; to direct them correctly.
- Reporting production facilities, updating CPs, shipment process to manage both directly customer (separately to each department of the brand) and factory sides process were also part of my role.
- The accounts I was responsible of are:
- Jack Wills
- New Look
- Dunnes
- Bikbok
- Cubus
- Days Like This
Merchandiser
COTTEX LLP
02.2015 - 02.2016
- Cottex LLP is a UK based Textile Manufacturing which provides global sourcing services of high quality garments.
- My role here was to assist and manage product development and production for an American brand, Peter Millar.
B2B Philips Digital Service Expert & Web Content Editor
NMQ Digital
07.2014 - 02.2015
- Adobe CQ5 WebCMS provides integrated content management, digital asset management and social collaboration software.
- My role within Philips Digital Services was to create, configure and publish webpages using the various tools and components CQ5 provided for global web projects.
- This involved communicating with members of the IT department, project managers and business owners, to deliver pages that best suited their needs.
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts - BFA - Fashion/Apparel Design
Beykent University
Istanbul, 3407-2013
Bachelor of Arts - Design in Fashion Design And Technology
VIA University College
Herning, Denmark01.2013
Skills
Account Management
Business Development
Business Relationship Management
Business-to-Business (B2B)
Contract Renewal
Customer Success Management
Data Mapping
Design Research
Fashion Buying
Fashion Design
Fashion Jewelry
Garment Technology
Timeline
Global Selection Manager
Trendol Group
04.2021 - 03.2025
Senior Buyer
New Look Turkey
04.2021 - 03.2025
Senior International Account Manager
Trendol Group
04.2021 - 03.2025
Senior Product & ProductionMerchandiser
New Look Turkey
07.2018 - 04.2021
Merchandiser
Turkmen Holding
03.2016 - 05.2018
Merchandiser
COTTEX LLP
02.2015 - 02.2016
B2B Philips Digital Service Expert & Web Content Editor
NMQ Digital
07.2014 - 02.2015
Bachelor of Arts - Design in Fashion Design And Technology
VIA University College
Bachelor of Fine Arts - BFA - Fashion/Apparel Design
Beykent University