Sharon Leicham Bio
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| Sharon Leicham
The SNEWS® MerchandisingHub Editor |
Leicham’s first retail venture was as the owner of That Paper Store, a custom stationery and gift shop in California. After selling the business in 1971 she took a position with apparel manufacturer Royal Robbins in its wholesale division as Director of Merchandising. During her tenure at Royal Robbins, she held public relations, marketing, merchandising, and sales management positions. She published a monthly merchandising newsletter distributed to retailers nationwide and authored a merchandising column for Outside Business magazine.
While at Royal Robbins, Leicham “moonlighted” as a travel photographer. Her credits include the Dallas Morning News, the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune. More recently her photos have appeared in Outdoor Retailer magazine, GearTrends magazine and website and Country Business magazine.
After leaving Royal Robbins in 1982, she established a consulting business working with manufacturers and retailers on merchandising, marketing and staff training. She returned to the corporate world in 1985 as Trade Marketing Manager and subsequently Global Marketing Manager for Specialized Bicycle Components in Morgan Hill, California. Her responsibilities included advertising, catalogs, packaging and apparel and accessories merchandising. In that position, she worked with Specialized offices worldwide. During this time, she became a contributing editor to Outdoor Retailer magazine.
In 1996, Leicham took a position with outdoor products manufacturer Sierra Designs in Emeryville, California as Director of Apparel Merchandising. She was responsible for conceptualizing and driving the Sierra Designs clothing division from concept to successful sell-through. The division grew by 300% during her tenure.
After making a move to Memphis, Tennessee in 2000 she became the Visuals Editor for Outdoor Retailer magazine. In that capacity she was responsible for providing photographs for the editorial content of the book as well as contributing monthly merchandising articles. She worked with professional photographers in the studio and on location and contracted with illustrators. The magazine ceased publication in 2002.
Leicham currently consults with manufacturers and retailers in a number of different markets and is a contributor to Visual Merchandising & Store Design, GearTrends®, Snowsports Industries America, Bicycle Retailer, Fly Fishing Retailer, Country Business, Dance Retailer News and Bicycle Dealer Showcase magazines. She speaks at trade shows including Interbike, Outdoor Retailer Expos, Snowsports Industries of America, Fly Fishing Retailer World Trade Expo, Children’s Trade Expo, World Shoe Show and presents merchandising seminars for retail chains. She is the merchandising editor for SNEWS®.
She is the author of Merchandising Your Way to Success and How to Sell to Women and is the creator and principal of merchandisingHUB.com.
Contact Sharon directly via email at: — sharon@merchandisinghub.com
