Derric Au

Luxury Retail

• Led the Client Development department to develop strategies to drive change and steer the company to become more client focused, to refined the client journey and elevate clienteling engagements through retail marketing activations and clearly defined CRM objectives
• Analyzed and studied market and business trends to recommend new strategies and prepare for upcoming changes
• Key contributor to 'talk of the town' events, like the 2023 International Men's Pre-fall Show, hosted over 1,200 people at the Avenue of Stars, including organizing 3 banquets for over 380 local and international guests before the show and local treatments. Also organized and hosted an exclusive invitation-only event at the Rosewood hotel to showcase LV's high-end collections, plus > 20 events in and out of store
• Streamlined internal processes for enhanced efficiency in client management operations. Recalibrated store actions to drive outreach to local clients, increasing appointments by over 40% YOY and broadening engaged client base
• Refined client nomination process for overseas client treatments to international shows and events to maximize
• Engaged and nurtured meaningful strategic partnerships with landlords and other organizations to produce unique experiences for our existing clients and recruiting new ones
• Collaborated closely with cross-functional teams to develop comprehensive solutions tailored to client requirements
• Rebalanced and maintained budget to maximize opportunities and yet be able to support all stores based on their clienteling needs

Luxury Retail

• Headed Marketing and CRM departments (CRM + Privilege Loyalty program, Client Development, Customer Insights, Direct to Customer Communication, Corporate Marketing) to plan and execute retail marketing activations, and, to revamp how the company does clienteling and to build the clienteling culture
• Led and coordinated between multiple departments including the Buyers, PR, VM, Retail Planning, Digital, Content Finance and Retail to ensure all are aligned and have the necessary items to execute each activation
• Developed and led the newly formed Corporate Partnership Department (July 2022) to build and nurture the B2B business through partnerships with other luxury brands and financial institutions, and, to drive products and gift cards sales. In one year, developed key strategic relationships with 5 major banks, 5 international luxury hotels, 2 telecom companies and others, driving recruitment and sales
• Cultivated a positive work environment that fostered employee engagement, increased retention rates, and boosted overall team morale.

Luxury Retail

• Led Regional Client Development Team to perform Client Relationship Management (CRM) activities, derive, execute and drive client development programs and strategies, facilitate and approve regional client related image and retail events (13 markets)
• Built events and client development budget planning for entire region and manage throughout the year
• Through the analysis of database, designed and executed regional clienteling programs and initiatives that contributed from over Eur18m in 2016 to over Eur90m in 2021 YTD Sept, including recruitment, reactivation, targeted client development programs, strategic campaigns, etc
• Ensured success of over 90 regional key events in a year in Ladies, Homme, High Jewelry and Baby collections, specifically on client satisfaction, return of investment and client recruitment
• Created and implemented programs to instill clienteling mindset of frontline staff
• Implemented guidelines to safeguard database and how it is used, to keep database clean, accurate as stipulated in GDPR and to minimize duplications
• Ensured the timely completion and sharing of client data related reports that are used by merchandisers and boutiques to plan and develop buying and retail strategies projects as requested by Regional Managing Director, such as conducting studies and surveys to better understand market and client trends to seek out opportunities
• Created with Learning & Development department specific trainings for boutique sales associates to better their interpersonal and selling skills according to the Maison's direction
• Approached and collaborated with different organizations to partner with, bringing exclusive shopping experiences to existing clients and recruiting new ones
• Rolled out new clienteling system in all markets within 2020 including devising plan and organizing training

Travel Luxury Retail

• Responsible for developing, implementing and continuously driving higher luxury service standards and procedures for DFS's client service teams
• Conceptualized and rolled out a new loyalty program launched in March 2014, resulting in over 200% growth in new member acquisition and over 70% increase in member spending sales in the first month of launch vs same period in 2013
• Directed the successful opening of eight luxury elite member lounges (up to 8,000 sq Feet) catered for DFS's global top spenders
• Drove team to innovate and ensure the continuous delivery of the highest service standards at all locations commensurate with expectations of luxury brands, resulting in lounge visits growing by over 20% annually
• Spearheaded the conceptualization and execution of large scale annual luxury VIP events to delight and develop high potential DFS members from China and Japan, resulting in over 10% spending increase within the following 12 months, including new clients spending from guests of members who attended the event
• Developed strategies to enhance loyalty and spending of top clients by providing the most exclusive personalized experiences that delight them most (e.g., backstage passes to Justin Bieber concert in LA, private yacht fishing trips in Hawaii), resulting in 200% additional spending in the same year
• Collaborated with merchandising teams to bring distinctive curated collections (e.g., Masters of Time, Masters of Spirits and Wine) to DFS members and drive pre-sell strategies, generating sale growth of 20%-30% annually
• Conducted luxury service reinforcement training to over 100 client services staff and local trainers in 9 store locations around the world
• Centralized email enquiry channels worldwide and supervise team to manage a monthly average of 600 email enquiries and customer feedback, out of which an average of 35 service recoveries are performed each month, ensuring every email is answered and followed up

Wealth Management (Private Banking)

• Through social networking events and referrals by contacts gained from previous experiences, built up a book of specifically targeted high-net-worth individuals with at least US$1-2M in bankable assets
• Marketed the concept of wealth management and products to high-net-worth individuals resulting in over US$15M net new investments through UBS in 6 months
• Developed and proposed customized wealth enhancement strategies for each client resulting in an average of 96% of funds in account invested in financial products

Real Estate Investment

• Ranked in the top 1% out of over 1,000 consultants in Asia by achieving over HK$7M in investments in 2006
• Selected by senior management as top performer to work with the Corporate Division to serve institutional clients, generating over HK$1.3M in sales in the first three months
• Increased client base by identifying new business opportunities and cultivating strong relationships with key decisionmakers
• Appointed by company to work with groups and to speak in a series of events covering over 13,000 persons on topics designed to shift their sales approach from being transactional to relationship based; a tracked group 20 sales people generated HK$800K additional sales vs prior year as a result with increased rate of return customers
• Developed monthly investment project bulletin for company to update clients on developments and news that will impact their investments, which greatly helped develop my credibility in the industry

Golf Club with Retail, Golf School, F&B and Spa

• Led programs geared for the frontline teams in sales and F&B to strengthen their service skills, knowledge and selling approach resulting in significantly improved customer satisfaction and increased repeat visits
• Strategized and revamped the marketing of a new membership program resulting in double digit growth of new member base and renewal of existing base contributing to an overall 20% increase in company revenue
• Developed over 20 partnerships including major banks, premium health clubs, high tier credit card issuers, and publications to increase exposure and attract specific targeted audience resulting in attracting an increase of customers possessing high disposable income

Medical Equipment and Instruments

• Directed team to nearly doubling the annual revenue from HK$15M the first year to HK$28M per annum in 3 years despite intense competition from proliferation of lower priced substitute products
• Served on the local Board comprising of senior management and selected high performing managers to strategize corporate direction with localization considerations, and developed a young team of 5 junior staff to become high performing sales people resulting in specific and clear goals for teams
• Organized two of the most highly-attended events in the industry in Hong Kong with over 5,000 participants, including the world's most influential physicians and medical researchers, who ultimately made strong endorsements of the company's products. This facilitated the significant increase in market share in the region from 50% to over 70% in the following year
• Created savings of over HK$300,000 per annum while heading up a sub team committee focused on development of innovative solutions to maximize resources, efficiencies and staff productivity