Wela Mkhwebula

Merchandise Assistant / Junior Merchandiser
Cape Town, ZA.

About

Commercially astute and detail-oriented product and merchandising professional with extensive experience across planning, product coordination, and retail operations within dynamic fashion and homeware environments. Wela excels at bridging creative and commercial functions, leveraging strong analytical skills and cross-functional collaboration to optimize range building, product lifecycle management, and supplier coordination, consistently ensuring accurate and on-time product delivery. Her proactive approach and deep understanding of consumer behavior drive impactful results in product development and market positioning.

Work

Weylandts
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Homeware Product Coordinator

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Summary

Coordinated homeware product selections and documentation, serving as a central liaison across diverse departments to ensure accurate information flow and product readiness.

Highlights

Collated product selections from Buyers into structured range presentations and PIS documentation, streamlining data organization for efficient review.

Maintained and updated PIS documents weekly, ensuring 100% accuracy across replenishment and new product lines to support inventory management.

Compiled detailed product information for marketing briefs, retail training, and visual merchandising teams, enhancing cross-functional communication and consistency.

Acted as a central point of coordination between Buyers, Procurement, Planners, Retail teams, Interior Designers, and VM, facilitating seamless product development.

Managed product queries across departments, ensuring consistency and accuracy of information to minimize discrepancies and improve operational efficiency.

Compiled and reviewed product release documentation, validating all data prior to launch to prevent errors and ensure smooth market entry.

The Foschini Group (TFG)
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Merchandise Planner

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Summary

Executed product ranges and optimized sales performance, leveraging a quick response trading model and strategic planning within the fashion retail sector.

Highlights

Built and executed product ranges in collaboration with Buying teams using a quick response trading model, enhancing market responsiveness and product relevance.

Planned production capacity alongside central planning teams and CMTs, optimizing manufacturing efficiency and delivery timelines.

Analyzed weekly sales performance and adjusted pricing and strategy to optimize margin and sell-through, contributing to profitability goals.

Monitored end-to-end production from design through to bulk manufacturing, ensuring quality control and adherence to production schedules.

Negotiated effectively with CMTs to maintain cost price and production timelines, achieving favorable terms and operational consistency.

Costed products accurately to meet required margin targets and retail pricing strategy, ensuring competitive positioning and financial viability.

Unboxd Media Productions
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Junior Designer & Social Media Coordinator

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Summary

Developed visual assets and managed social media strategies, contributing to client campaigns and brand presence within the media production industry.

Highlights

Developed compelling visual assets, including campaigns, presentations, and digital content, to support client objectives and marketing initiatives.

Managed social media platforms and executed content strategies, increasing brand engagement and online visibility.

Assisted with creative direction for photoshoots and client campaigns, contributing to successful visual storytelling and brand messaging.

Freelance
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Brand Promoter

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Summary

Represented multiple brands through in-store and event-based activations, enhancing product visibility and customer engagement.

Highlights

Represented multiple brands through impactful in-store and event-based activations, significantly increasing brand exposure.

Supported product placement, styling, and customer engagement initiatives, driving consumer interest and interaction.

Convoy
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Sales Representative

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Summary

Delivered customer-facing sales and managed retail transactions, supporting visual merchandising to enhance in-store engagement.

Highlights

Delivered customer-facing sales within a dynamic retail environment, consistently meeting sales targets.

Managed point-of-sale (POS) transactions and manual sales tracking, ensuring accurate record-keeping and efficient operations.

Supported visual merchandising efforts to drive in-store engagement, contributing to an enhanced customer experience.

Education

University of Johannesburg
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

National Diploma (NQF 6)

Fashion Production

Courses

Fashion Design

Garment Construction

Textile Production

Languages

English

Skills

Range Building & Product Coordination

Range Building, Product Coordination.

Merchandise Planning & Trading

Merchandise Planning, Trading.

Costing & Margin Management

Costing, Margin Management.

Supplier & CMT Coordination

Supplier Coordination, CMT Coordination.

Product Lifecycle Management

Product Lifecycle Management.

Sales Analysis & Reporting

Sales Analysis, Reporting.

Visual Merchandising

Visual Merchandising.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator.

Photoshop

Photoshop.

CorelDraw

CorelDraw.