This Q&A with Abu Bakar, CIO of Vineyard Vines, originally appeared in the I Am Omnichannel newsletter.
During this interview, Bakar talks about his career in retail and how Vineyard Vines optimizes inventory across channels.
How Did Your Career In Retail Begin?
I began my career as an IT consultant developing ERP solutions for apparel retailers. One of our clients was Liz Claiborne. While working on a project, the company asked me to join full time. It was an easy transition because I was already working with the team.
I’ve always had a much broader business focus than traditional CIOs. To me, a CIO should help discover business solutions instead of sitting at the back during meetings mentioning servers. More and more companies are realizing that the role of the CIO is evolving.
Advertisement
For any CIO in retail, the two biggest opportunities to impact the business are: 1) Inventory management; and 2) Calendar management. IT operations know end-to-end how the business works and are best positioned to identify opportunities to grow the top line as well as focus on the bottom line.
How Did You Apply That Approach At Vineyard Vines?
I took on distribution to figure out how to optimize inventory across all channels. My goal was to break down silos so that a customer could place an order on any channel and we could ship that order from any other channel. To accomplish that goal, I migrated our web platform to get our major systems in place. We installed WiFi in all of our stores and equipped sales associates with iPads. From an operations perspective, we developed an internal ordering system that ensured store associates still receive credit for an online order whenever a customer’s size or style preference isn’t available in-store. Our priority was to make sure brick and mortar stores were never closed to sell existing inventory. All store inventory should be available online and saleable. To manage those logistics, we implemented a rules-based system that defined when to surface inventory across channels.
Which Retail Executives Do You Admire Most?
I look up to Mickey Drexler (chairman and CEO of J. Crew Group and former CEO of Gap, Inc.). He always commands respect and when he says he’s going to do something, he gets it done. I always admired the tenacity of Liz Claiborne’s former CIO John Sullivan as well as David DeMattei, CEO of Lucky Brand Jeans.
Which Retailers Do You Admire Most?
From a brand perspective, the gold standard is Apple. The experience they provide consumers is unparalleled. Macy’s has done an amazing job with e-Commerce and social. Burberry has always been a leader when it comes to online — a really innovative company.
What Has Been Your Proudest Career Accomplishment?
I always knew what I wanted to do and I followed through. I didn’t want to be just a CIO; I wanted to have broader responsibility. Today I oversee Vineyard Vine’s operations, logistics, and online P&L.
