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Jennifer Spaulding Schmidt

Senior PartnerMinneapolis

Product Development & Procurement global leader, increasing the competitiveness and profitability of retailers and consumer companies by leading large transformation programs and strategic growth strategies.

Jennifer is a senior partner who has been a leader in our Minneapolis and New Jersey offices for 20 years, and is a global leader of the Product Development & Procurement service line in the Operations Practice. She has deep expertise across consumer and retail operational and strategic issues, including marketing, merchandising, digital, organization, pricing, and strategy. Jennifer has led our apparel, fashion and luxury work in the Americas since 2010. Additionally, she leads much of our retail private-equity work in the Americas and has primary relationships with several investment funds. She has worked with over 100 global consumer companies and is widely published and regularly speaks at leading industry summits.

Examples of her recent client work include the following:

Retail

  • delivering a multiyear transformation for leading specialty apparel retailer
  • designing a digital customer strategy and agile marketing program for an apparel portfolio
  • developing a US retail, wholesale, and digital strategy for a European luxury brand
  • generating a strategy and profit program for a leading online grocer
  • initiating a multiyear transformation program for a US grocer

Consumer Products

  • delivering a multiyear transformation for a major global cosmetics and skin care company
  • creating a social media strategy for premier consumer goods company
  • developing a pricing and promotions strategy for major personal care company
  • designing a carve-out and marketing and sales strategy for a leading consumer packaged goods brand

Private equity and investing

  • running multiple due diligences for international investors looking for US food and beverage assets
  • leading consumer segmentation and functional redesign for several private-equity portfolio companies
  • managing due-diligence processes for several specialty and contemporary apparel brands
  • leading due-diligence processes for assets across the beauty category

Published work

How product design can yield ‘triple wins’: Growth, margin, and sustainability,” McKinsey & Company, January 2024

Probing reality and myth in the metaverse,” McKinsey & Company, June 2022

Digitally native brands: Born digital, but ready to take on the world,” McKinsey & Company, October 2021

How COVID-19 is changing the world of beauty,” McKinsey & Company, May 2020

Patterns for value creation in apparel, fashion, and luxury,” McKinsey & Company, March 2020

The young and the restless: Generation Z in America,” McKinsey & Company, March 2020

Powerful pricing: The next frontier in apparel and fashion advanced analytics,” McKinsey & Company, December 2018

Cracking the code on millennial consumers,” McKinsey & Company, March 2017

Creating value in fashion: How to make the dream come true,” McKinsey & Company, May 2015

The opportunity in online luxury fashion,” McKinsey & Company, February 2015

Pricing fashion with science,” McKinsey & Company, November 2014

The glittering power of cities for luxury growth,” McKinsey & Company, September 2014

Are stores out of fashion…or a competitive weapon in the digital era?,” McKinsey & Company, January 2014

Past experience

BMW North America
Marketing and pricing strategy

Deloitte & Touche
Business analyst

Target Corporation
Merchandise management program

Education

Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
MBA, finance and marketing

Northwestern University
BA, economics and political science