Chirath Laknath
Horana
Summary
Senior Merchandiser at Hela Apparel Holdings, managing the VF account (60%+ turnover for the Kinetix cluster). Former Business Analyst at Original Apparel, focusing on the Decathlon account (60%+ turnover). Worked with senior leadership to improve performance using data, sales forecasting, and capacity planning. Led ERP system optimizations and automation. Passionate about continuous improvement, striving for 1% daily progress. Outside work, I enjoy swimming, hiking, and cricket.
Overview
5
5
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Executive (Merchandising)
Hela Apparel Holdings
04.2023 - Current
- Leading the bulk, operations and sales functions of VF account which contributes to more than 60% of annual turnover of Kinetix cluster while improving KPIs and achieving sales budgets
- Improved OTD (On Time Delivery) from 35% to 100% within 4 months in 2022 and maintained same level (~98.7%) for almost 2 years
- Working directly with the cluster CEO, cluster strategy head and General Manager Marketing on strategy and Long Range Plan. A key member of the strategy formulation and execution team which broke into top 10 best performing vendors for VF, globally in 2024 (starting from 29th in Asia in 2022)
- Worked with internal and external teams to ensure capacity requirements of customers are being met while ensuring internal capacity is right sized accordingly
Merchandiser
Hela Apparel Holdings
05.2022 - 03.2023
Business Analyst
Original Apparel Private Limited
01.2020 - 04.2022
- Provided sales forecasts of Decathlon account for upcoming months to the board of directors, which had an annual turnover around 30 million USD
- Coordinated with costing department to cost key Decathlon perimeters including Domyos and Wedze for SS22 season, to achieve maximum profitability over long term
- Improved Hand Overs On Time (HOT) which is one of the major KPIs by 20% within a period of 18 weeks (June 2021 to October 2021)
- Collaborated with IT unit to develop an in house ERP system to address arising business needs and to cope better with varying business models of different buyers
Education
Passed Finalist -
CIMA
01-2023
Bachelor of Arts - Management And Leadership (Second Upper Class)
Coventry University
01.2020
Skills
- Operational Efficiency
- Operational Excellence
- Key Performance Indicators
- Drive Change
- Supply Chain Management
- Accounting
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
Languages
Sinhala
Native language
English
Proficient
C2
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
* School Head Prefect -Taxila Central College, Horana (2016 - 2017)
* School Swimming Captain and Junior House Captain (2012 - 2013)
* Chairman of Swimming and Life Saving Club (2012 - 2013)
* Led Sathkaraya Flood Relief Charity Project to aid school children in Kalutara district affected by floods (2017)
Timeline
Senior Executive (Merchandising)
Hela Apparel Holdings
04.2023 - Current
Merchandiser
Hela Apparel Holdings
05.2022 - 03.2023
Business Analyst
Original Apparel Private Limited
01.2020 - 04.2022
Passed Finalist -
CIMA
Bachelor of Arts - Management And Leadership (Second Upper Class)
Coventry University
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