Jessica Germaine Tok
Head Of Trading
Singapore
Summary
Driving Growth: Exceeding sales targets while optimizing costs through innovative solutions.
Strategic Innovation: Challenging the status quo to deliver best-in-class results within budget and time constraints.
Talent Development: Fostering collaborative teams, recognizing individual strengths, and mentoring team members to drive business success and unlock their full potential.
Results-Oriented: As a dominant leader (DISC profiling), driving goal-oriented results through assertive and disciplined leadership, prioritizing tasks, and maintaining high standards.
Customer-Centric: Prioritizing delightful customer experiences to drive business growth and loyalty.
Overview
30
30
years of professional experience
4012
4012
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Head of Trading
Watsons Personal Care Stores Pte Ltd
07.2023 - 02.2025
- Spearheaded financial planning & P&L performance: Managed comprehensive budgets, conducted quarterly reviews for financial performance, and ensured alignment with business objectives.
- Drove strategic business growth: Crafted and implemented long-term (3-5 years) strategic plans with SMART targets, achieving 8-15% YoY growth and driving business success.
- Optimized sales strategies: Tracked daily sales performance, analyzed customer trends to identify opportunities, and optimized strategies, resulting in a 12% revenue growth vs previous year.
- Leveraged market insights: Utilized industry-leading tools like Nielsen and IQVIA for market analyses, gaining actionable insights into trends, competitors, and customer behavior to inform business decisions.
- Executed multi-channel sales events: Planned and executed sales events across offline and online channels, leveraging trends and insights to drive growth, boost engagement, and enhance brand visibility.
- Improved inventory efficiency: Implemented strategies to adjust stock levels to meet company expectation of 99%, address slow-moving stock, minimize waste, and optimize inventory turnover.
- Negotiated key supplier contracts: Spearheaded regional negotiations with suppliers, securing favorable terms, achieving cost efficiencies, and ensuring consistent performance across countries.
- Drove Health & Beauty growth: Designed and executed strategies for the portfolio, focusing on market trends, customer insights, and competitor activity, and driving growth, experience enhancement, and market leadership.
Trading Controller / Senior Merchandising Manager
Watsons Personal Care Stores Pte Ltd
06.2016 - 06.2023
- Led Cross-Functional Teams to Deliver 20% Growth: Managed teams across Health & Wellness, Personal Care, Direct Model, achieving KPIs and driving business success.
- Drove eCommerce Success: Optimized product listings, collaborated on online sales strategy, and tracked performance to fuel sustained online growth.
- Exceeded Sales Targets: Developed and executed strategic plans, expanding profit margins and increasing market share.
- Shaped Regional Strategy: Conducted sales forecast meetings and trading reviews, informing promotional plans.
- Boosted Promotion Effectiveness: Collaborated with marketing and analysts to evaluate promotions and inform future activities.
- Streamlined Operations: Improved processes in promotion planning, trading, and eCommerce, enhancing productivity.
- Fostered Business Growth: Strategized with buyers, negotiated with suppliers, and identified new opportunities.
- Drove Customer-Centric Growth: Focused on understanding consumer behavior to inform business strategies.
Merchandising Manager – (Skincare, Personal Care & Health & Wellness)
Watsons Personal Care Stores Pte Ltd
05.2014 - 05.2016
- Transformed Skincare, Healthcare for business objectives: Managed team of buyers, trainee, assistants for business success to achieve company target of 15%.
- Accelerated sales targets & 15% YoY growth: Met departmental goals via strategic planning and execution.
- Orchestrated alignment with top management: Provided weekly sales updates and action plans for business success.
- Optimized buyer performance & objectives: Conducted weekly meetings for objective setting, progress monitoring.
- Collaborated for promotion efficacy: Worked with Marketing, analysts for promotion evaluation and profit drive.
- Monitored trends & catalyzed growth: Conducted supplier reviews, store visits for market trends, business growth.
Trade Marketing Manager
DKSH (S) Pte Ltd
01.2013 - 05.2014
- Drove Business Growth: Managed multiple retailers and channels, negotiating promotions and listings for revenue growth.
- Strategic Partnerships: Collaborated with Category Managers and buyers to align sales and profit strategies with company objectives.
- Led High-Performing Team: Led 20+ member sales team, conducting briefings and driving team performance.
- Market Insights: Conducted store visits to gather market insights, competitor activities, and build relationships.
- Inventory Optimization: Maintained efficient inventory management, analyzing IMS and conducting rolling forecasts to meet sales targets.
- Procurement Excellence: Utilized SAP for streamlined procurement, managing orders and tracking shipments for accuracy.
- Executed Effective Marketing: Developed and implemented advertising campaigns with media partners to support sales objectives.
- Market Expansion: Successfully onboarded new products, ensuring regulatory compliance and strategic pricing for business growth.
- Sales Performance: Managed channel sales targets, tracked daily sales performance, and adjusted activities for maximum impact.
Category Manager / Category Executive - Giant / Shop N Save
DFI Retail Group
11.2006 - 12.2012
- Category Leadership: Previously led Dairy & Frozen Departments for 3 years and Breakfast Foods department for 1 year, before steering Health & Beauty and Baby Food categories to achieve $45 million annual sales for Giant & Shop N Save.
- Supplier Negotiations: Negotiated promotions, listings, margins, and volume to drive revenue growth.
- Business Review & Analysis: Conducted reviews with suppliers, analyzing promotion effectiveness and ensuring alignment with objectives.
- Promotion Optimization: Evaluated promotion profitability and sales performance, updating suppliers on company objectives.
- Market Insights: Informed business strategies through store visits, competitor analysis, and trend monitoring.
Confidential Secretary - 7-Eleven Singapore
DFI Retail Group
09.2000 - 10.2006
- Strategic Support: Provided admin support to Merchandise Director, planning schedules, managing travel, and coordinating meetings.
- Product & Registration Management: Managed product samples, APAC registration, and collaborated with distributors for product registration.
- Business Planning & Execution: Compiled sales data, developed budgets, and demand plans using "best time, best place, best promotions" approach, collaborating with suppliers, Marketing, and Operations to drive sales growth.
- Promoted to Category Executive, Giant Hypermarket, leveraging expertise in category management and business growth)
Store Manager / Assistant Store Manager / Shift Manager, 7-Eleven Singapore
DFI Retail Group
01.1995 - 02.2000
- Drove Sales Growth: Achieved 10% incremental sales vs budget, demonstrating effective sales strategies and leadership.
- Operational Excellence: Managed outlet operations, controlling costs and driving business performance to achieve profit and sales objectives.
- Team Development: Led and coached staff, recruiting and training team members to enhance skills, drive business growth, and ensure customer satisfaction.
Education
Advanced Diploma - Business Management
Management Development Institution of Singapore
Singapore02-2009
Diploma - Retail Management
Management Development Institution of Singapore
Singapore11-2004
Skills
Business growth strategy
Profit and loss management
KPI development and tracking
Cost-saving initiatives
Cross-functional team leadership
Effective Transformational Leadership
Persuasive negotiation skills
Sales strategy development
Competitive pricing strategies
Customer relationship management
Ecommerce growth strategy
Timeline
Head of Trading
Watsons Personal Care Stores Pte Ltd
07.2023 - 02.2025
Trading Controller / Senior Merchandising Manager
Watsons Personal Care Stores Pte Ltd
06.2016 - 06.2023
Merchandising Manager – (Skincare, Personal Care & Health & Wellness)
Watsons Personal Care Stores Pte Ltd
05.2014 - 05.2016
Trade Marketing Manager
DKSH (S) Pte Ltd
01.2013 - 05.2014
Category Manager / Category Executive - Giant / Shop N Save
DFI Retail Group
11.2006 - 12.2012
Confidential Secretary - 7-Eleven Singapore
DFI Retail Group
09.2000 - 10.2006
Store Manager / Assistant Store Manager / Shift Manager, 7-Eleven Singapore
DFI Retail Group
01.1995 - 02.2000
Advanced Diploma - Business Management
Management Development Institution of Singapore
Diploma - Retail Management
Management Development Institution of Singapore
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
My adventure in retailing started when I was only 15 years old in 1990. 7-Eleven opened my eyes and understanding to the fantastic and challenging world of retail and my life has not been the same again for positive reasons. I have brought with me more than 30 years of retail experience. 7-Eleven / Giant & Shop N Save and Watsons. They not only gave me a sound understanding of convenience store business function but also enabled me to grow as a leader. Since the current retail industry is very labor intensive, it provided me countless opportunities to develop my potential as a coach and a mentor by discovering talents, nurturing, and grooming them. This opportunity has been truly rewarding.
Professional Development
Leadership Development
- Ignite Leadership Program (1-year overseas)
- Aspire Leadership Program (1-year virtual)
- Develop to Lead Program (1.5 years)
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- Coaching and Leadership, Strategic Thinking
Retail Management
- Retail Buying, Store Management Program
- Profitability Driving Retail Skills Development
Communication and Presentation
- Effective Communication and Presentation Skill
- Better email, memo, and letter writing
Sales and Negotiation
- Selling for Growth, influencing and Persuasion
- Trading Academy - Advanced Negotiation Course
Performance Management
- SMART Goal & Performance Management
- Effective Costing & Budgeting
Assessment and Development
- Hogan - MVPI (Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory) and HBRI (Hogan Business Reasoning Inventory)
- Behavioral & Competency-Based Interviewing Skill Workshop
- Emergenetics Meeting of the Mind
Technical Skills
- MS-Windows, MS-Office, MS-Publisher & Internet
- Word, Excel & PowerPoint (Intermediate)
Project Management
- Project Management – Essential Tools & Techniques
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- Transformational Leader: 30+ years of experience driving sales growth, operational efficiency, and team development
- Proven Track Record: Delivering exceptional business outcomes and exceeding targets
- Expertise: Strategic planning, team leadership, talent development, and customer-centric initiatives
- Renowned Organisations: Experience working with 7-Eleven, Giant, Shop N Save, and Watsons
PERSONAL
- Results-Driven Leader: Delivering high-impact results through analytical expertise and strategic leadership.
- Effective Communicator: Influencing and engaging others through strong interpersonal and presentation skills.
- Team Empowerment: Driving success through target-oriented leadership and team collaboration.
- Adaptable Achiever: Thriving in fast-paced environments and delivering results under pressure.
- Impactful Presenter: Rallying teams and driving results through compelling communication.