Karen Franceschi is a highly experienced Vice President and General Merchandising Manager with over 25 years of experience in grocery, fresh, and health/beauty merchandising. She has a proven track record of consistently improving sales, profits, and operational excellence across multiple retail formats. Her core strengths include P&L management, talent development, and building high-performing teams. She is currently the VP, GMM for Grocery, Beauty & Health Care at Transform Holdco, where she has delivered significant profit growth through supply chain optimization and capitalizing on business opportunities during COVID-19.

1. KAREN M. FRANCESCHI
5N924 East Sunset Views Drive Saint Charles IL 60175 • Karen.franceschi@att.net • (630) 365-9352
VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL MERCHANDISING MANAGER OF FRESH, GROCERY,
BEAUTY & HEALTH CARE
Highly driven, hands on leader with expertise in P&L management, merchandising, marketing, procurement and operations.
Proven track record in developing talent and building teams to drive strategic change and deliver financial results. Demonstrates
strong communication skills with the ability to establish credibility across all levels of the organization.
CORE COMPETENCIES
• Leveraging financial acumen to deliver sales and profits • Customizing assortments to reflect demographics
• Leading by example and creating a positive work environment • Branding and marketing quality fresh programs
• Working in a fast paced, results oriented environment • Driving private brand growth to increase value proposition
• Teaching, training and developing future business leaders • Negotiating supplier contracts
NOTABLE CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
• Vice President and General Manager of 43 Super Kmart Full line Grocery Stores. Consistently drove positive comparable
sales and profits while executing excellence in operational standards. With store team engagement and focus on driving
freshness and craftsmanship, perishable sales increased from 26% to 30% of total store sales and profitability increased
though mix change and shrink reduction.
• Developed Fresh concept for Big Kmart stores which included produce, fresh meat, prepacked deli, dairy and frozen. First
store opened in Norridge IL, March 2015. Customer transactions increased 29%, predominantly driven by new members into
the Kmart format. Second location was Maui, Hawaii. Met with the local vendors and established a relationship with each
and continued to communicate weekly via phone and email. The vendors and employees were invaluable assisting in
establishing local relevant assortments.
• Developed Roundy’s Metro Market concept which was the precursor to the Mariano’s perishable concept. Prototype was in
down town Milwaukee. All prepared food dishes were produced fresh on sight. Once concept was scaled, production moved
to Roundy’s commissary which prepared fresh meals for all our locations. To differentiate our in store bakery, developed a
proprietary real butter cream which we used exclusively in our cake program and also focusing on unique designs, offerings
and superior service.
• Created a traditional corner bakery for Mariano’s Fresh Market. Bakery sales at the Arlington Heights location were 8% of the
store sales. Established the “local” bakery feel by offering high quality affordable baked goods, extreme attention to detail,
and an interactive customer experience. In addition, partnered with two local bakeries. Rolf’s Patisserie in Lincolnwood who
made cupcake recipes to my specification. The cupcake program represented 8% of the total bakery sales. Flavors
included vanilla bean, decadent chocolate, lemon, banana and carrot which were all skillfully and uniquely decorated.
Developed a partnership with Oak Mill Bakery and purchased cakes and pastries. Great local bakeries added instant
credibility to the in store bakery.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Transform Holdco LLC. February 2019 - Present
Vice President, General Merchandising Manager for Grocery, Beauty & Health Care May 2019 - Present
VP / GMM for the Grocery, Beauty and Healthcare business units. Redefined distribution model and provided leadership
through unprecedented times pre and post COVID vaccine including transitioning team to work from home and reacting to
changes in customer behavior pre and post COVID vaccine.
• Converted grocery and drug from a self-distributed inventory model to a 3rd
party model. Partnered with C&S
Wholesale, Imperial Distributors and L&R Distributors to distribute all product needs including stores mainland,
Guam, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands. Added $3M of profit to BOP for 52 week period by reducing distribution
costs.
• Utilized all resources to stock paper and cleaning items during COVID. Worked with C&S, also direct with P&G,
Clorox, Kimberly Clark and Georgia Pacific as well as off price distributors to best fulfill customer demand.
• Focused heavily on key stores in Guam and Virgin Islands that sales were impacted by COVID and tourism. Shifted
buying and merchandising focus on locals instead of tourists. Capitalized on paper, cleaning and pet to drive
incremental sales opportunities as well as expanded assortment of food from local vendors.
• Capitalized on issuance of Stimulus checks, especially in Guam as the island received $88.9MM in stimulus money
with a population of approximately 169,000 residents over a two week period in April. Total store sales increase 63%
and grocery and drug 97%.
• Delivered in Q1 and YTD Q2 a 75% increase in food sale in the Virgin Island by re-engaging with local vendors and
rebuilding relationships. Grocery and drug drives 80% of the profits for Guam and Virgin Island locations.

2. Sears Holdings Corporation March 2017 - January 2019
Sears Holdings Corporation, is a leading integrated retailer focused on seamlessly connecting the digital and physical shopping
experiences to serve our members. Sears Holdings is home to Shop Your Way®
, a social shopping platform offering members
rewards for shopping at Sears and Kmart, as well as with other retail partners across categories important to them. The Company
operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co., Sears Hometown and Kmart Corporation, with full-line retail
stores across the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Vice President, General Merchandising Manager for Beauty & Health Care Feb 2017– April 2019
VP/ GMM for the Beauty & Health Care business unit responsible for delivering sales of $550M in sales with a gross
margin rate at 38.8% in the 317 ongoing Kmart locations. Key responsibilities include restoring drugstore to top division
profitability, providing clear direction and leading transformation in how we buy, sell and assort and provide value to our
members.
• Appointed by business President to lead Beauty and Health Care which was lacking strong leadership, and needed a leader
with team engagement skills and a track record of consistently improving business results and achieving profit targets, which
is critical to Sears Holdings Corporation’s success as Beauty and Health Care was once the most profitable business in
corporation. Also requested to lead the Own Brand strategic initiative for the entire business unit.
• Improved sales and profits through promotional effectiveness, alternative product sourcing, category management, SKU
reduction of unproductive inventory and resets to add new innovation and relevance. Sales improved 500BP versus format
trend and margin improved from a 32.8% to a 38.8% over twelve months.
• Drove Own Brand penetration from 14% to 18.8% in first half of 2018 and on pace to exceed 20% by year end.
• Built a team of engaged associates by mentoring and developing internal and external candidates.
Vice President, GMM for Fresh & Big Kmart Grocery and Super K Format Feb 2011– Feb 2017
VP/ GMM for Fresh, Grocery, and Super Kmart format. Responsible for delivering sales of $2.1B in the 986 Kmart
locations and managing all aspects of the P&L including margin, payroll, and marketing expenses
• General Manager of 43 Super Kmart Grocery locations featuring fresh produce, full service fresh meat and seafood, service
deli, floral and fresh in store bakery. Focused on freshness, quality, and providing value to our customers. Executed
operational excellence providing clean stores, friendly and knowledgeable employees, and ordering from truck to shelf to
maximize the freshness of our products. Full responsibility for marketing, merchandising, buying, and all aspects of store
operations. Store visits focused on energizing the teams and teaching and training basics, especially around freshness,
focusing on truck to shelf and craftsmanship and relationship to sales and profits.
• Introduced weekly Meal Deals in the Big Kmart format. Featured a fresh meat item with a complementary grocery item or
items. Strong member feedback and engagement as well as store associate support. The Meal Deal program and Hot
Weekly Coupons became the cornerstone for our sales turnaround. Comparable store sales for Grocery were a positive 2%
while the format delivered a negative comp result.
• Developed a Fresh concept in the Big Kmart format with primary focus on produce with over 200 products available, and
added fresh meat, pre-pack deli, expanded dairy and frozen. First stores rolled out in Norridge, IL and Maui, Hawaii. Weekly
transactions increased 29%. Further roll out to 5 more locations with comparative results.
• Reports totaling 56 supporting my businesses, including 1 Vice President, 5 Directors, 8 Field Merchandisers, 8 Marketing
Assistants, and 33 Category Managers / Assistants and an administrative assistant.
Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc.
Vice President of Deli, Food Service and Bakery Merchandising and Procurement January 2005– January 2011
Remodeled stores and developed in store bakery programs that drove average sales of $25K per week. Corporate margin rate
consistently exceeded 60%. Prepared in store, an assortment of quality baked goods, fresh fried donuts, unique packaging and
service provided a traditional corner bakery experience.
Deli sales averaged $50K per week with a corporate margin of 42%. Developed specialty cheese assortment of over 800 SKU’s
and developed relationships with local Master Cheese Makers. Focused on high quality meats and prepared foods. For
Mariano’s Fresh Market deli format developed Vero coffee, authentic gelato, artisan pizza, meals to go, specialized local deli
service counter meat assortment.
• Completed course at the University of Wisconsin, Madison “From Pasture to Plate” to learn how to make cheese, and the
microbiology and properties of different varieties.
• Participated as a Judge in the World Cheese Competition in 2009.
Director, Deli & Bakery Merchandising and Procurement (Milwaukee, WI) 2006–2008
Category Manager, Deli & Bakery Merchandising and Procurement (Milwaukee, WI) 2005–2006
Dominick’s Finer Foods, Chicago, IL. January 1994 – December 2004
Divisional Merchandising Manager, Bakery 2003 - 2005
Managed P&L, product assortment, merchandising and in store execution for 121 stores in the Chicagoland area.
Achieved a number one ranking in sales and gross profit above all 11 Safeway divisions for two consecutive years.

3. Category Manager, Fresh Bakery and Commercial Bread 2002-2003
Managed P&L, product assortment, merchandising and vendor negotiations for 121 stores in the Chicagoland area.
District Manager, Bakery and Deli 1994-2002
Responsible for 35 stores to deliver high operational standards and budgeted sales and profits. Of four highly competitive
operating areas, my area was consistently number one in sales and gross margin rate and dollars.
EDUCATION
Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL.
Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration
Minor Psychology and Economics
PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES
Available upon request