Saks Fifth Avenue Boston & Columbus

Boston was where I learned to build a luxury brand strategy from the ground up in a market where Saks had real room to grow.

The first six months weren't about activations — they were about listening. I spent that time mapping the market: analyzing top-customer data, event ROI, and store performance, while building relationships with media, hospitality, arts organizations, and community leaders to understand where Saks belonged in Boston's cultural life and where it didn't yet.

The strategy that emerged focused on experiences that felt genuinely elevated rather than transactional — large-scale designer events that showcased the full depth of the assortment, arts partnerships that put the brand in rooms with the right people, and a Chinese market strategy built around cultural fluency rather than generic outreach. That program was later adopted by other Saks markets nationally.

Over three years, the store hosted multiple top designer in-store events, drove consistent year-over-year sales growth, and built a reputation in the Boston market as the place where luxury experiences actually happened.

Columbus was a different challenge — a smaller market with a strong loyalty base that needed investment and attention. I overhauled the top-client program, built community relationships from scratch, and developed a strategy to engage the city's international student population. The work culminated in a jewelry vendor dinner and an influencer-led in-store event that brought 130 community members together, generated press coverage, and delivered measurable sales results.

The common thread in both markets: luxury brand marketing works when it's built on genuine relationships and experiences people can't get anywhere else. Everything else follows from that.