SD Retail Consulting, a leading strategic retail advisory firm and unit of Hilco Trading, named Farla Efros as executive vice president and chief operating officer as part of its strategic efforts to expand the breadth and depth of its senior management team. In her new role, Efros will be responsible for the firm’s Merchandising and Strategy practice area.
Efros brings extensive expertise in merchandising strategy and category management, having worked globally with many of the world’s leading retailers and consumer packaged goods companies. Most recently, Efros served as executive vice president and chief merchandising officer of Office Depot where she was selected by the CEO to transform merchandising operations for 1,170 locations across the US. Efros worked to define Office Depot’s merchandising vision and clearly articulated its merchandising strategy in moving Office Depot from a product-centric company to a customer-centric one. To that end, she developed category management expertise, strengthened internal cross-functional capabilities and simplified work processes to create a fast, flexible and focused merchandising organization.
“Adding Farla to the leadership team to help expand and grow the SD Retail business is a significant statement about the caliber of talent we plan to offer our clients to help them succeed in today’s rapidly changing retail landscape,” said Antony Karabus, newly-appointed president of the firm. “Recognized as one of the brightest strategic leaders in the retail industry today, Farla’s unique insight and understanding of the challenges our customers face will enable us to deliver the most comprehensive assessment of their business and help them grow.”
Prior to her role as EVP at Office Depot, Efros held the position of SVP of Performance Improvement at a leading international consulting firm, where she was responsible for store operations, merchandising and marketing strategy, organization design, category management and assortment optimization.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to continue developing and operationalizing the principles that will support SD Retail’s leadership and drive business results in the years ahead,” Efros commented. “Our innovative solutions will help retailers create tangible value while improving operating performance and accelerating growth strategies.”
SD Retail Consulting is a leading strategic retail advisory firm that helps retailers unlock value across multiple operating segments; including merchandising, planning and allocation, the in-store customer experience, supply chain, inventory, real estate, the support infrastructure, technology effectiveness and the raising of capital required to support growth strategies. The company is a unit of The Hilco Organization and operates in New York as well as at Hilco’s headquarters in Northbrook, IL.