Former Office Depot merch chief to head ops at retail consultancy

CHICAGO — Hilco Trading has named Farla Efros as EVP and COO of itsSD Retail Consulting unit. The move is part of the company's strategic efforts to expand the breadth and depth of its senior management team. In her new role, Efros will be responsible for the firm’s merchandising and strategy practice area.

Efros brings extensive expertise in merchandising strategy and category management, having worked globally with many of the world’s leading retailers and consumer packaged goods companies. Most recently, she served as EVP and chief merchandising officer of Office Depot where she was selected by the CEO to transform merchandising operations for 1,170 locations across the United States. Efros worked to define Office Depot’s merchandising vision and clearly articulated its merchandising strategy in moving Office Depot from a product-centric company to a customer-centric one. To that end, she developed category management expertise, strengthened internal cross-functional capabilities and simplified work processes to create a fast, flexible and focused merchandising organization.

“Adding Farla to the leadership team to help expand and grow the SD Retail business is a significant statement about the caliber of talent we plan to offer our clients to help them succeed in today’s rapidly changing retail landscape,” said Antony Karabus, newly-appointed president of the firm. “Recognized as one of the brightest strategic leaders in the retail industry today, Farla’s unique insight and understanding of the challenges our customers face will enable us to deliver the most comprehensive assessment of their business and help them grow.”

Prior to her role as EVP at Office Depot, Efros held the position of SVP performance improvement at a leading international consulting firm, where she was responsible for store operations, merchandising and marketing strategy, organization design, category management and assortment optimization. Previously, she spent 10 years at The Partnering Group, Inc., where she served as partner responsible for the development of the best practices category, and customer management.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to continue developing and operationalizing the principles that will support SD Retail’s leadership and drive business results in the years ahead,” Efros commented. “Our innovative solutions will help retailers create tangible value while improving operating performance and accelerating growth strategies.”