Kelby Stehl
Halls Kansas City
Buyer, Women’s Contemporary Apparel and Kid’s Apparel/Accessories
During her time at Kansas State University, Kelby received a Bachelor of Science degree in Apparel Marketing with a minor in business and a Master of Science degree in Apparel and Textiles with a specialization in Apparel Marketing. Her thesis topic focused on deterring the demand of fashion counterfeit goods through anti-counterfeit education.
After graduating, Kelby was hired at Hallmark Cards as an Associate Merchandise Manager for Women's Accessories, Jewelry, and Entertaining categories within the Hallmark Gold Crown corporate store group. A year and a half later, Kelby transitioned over to Halls Kansas City—an elegant department store located in the Crown Center district of Kansas City. Halls Kansas City is a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards and is known for offering unique fashion merchandise, gifts, home décor, and accessories.
Current responsibilities as the Buyer of the Women’s Contemporary and Kids departments at Halls Kansas City include the following:
- Strategically build product assortments to drive department sales and meet margin/inventory goals
- Analyze retail data at the department, class, and subclass levels to support business decisions for current and future seasons
- Foster vendor relationships while negotiating shipping timing, terms, and pricing
- Partner with visual merchandising and sales staff to ensure the vision of the department is executed each season
Throughout her professional career with Halls, Kelby has also served as a Temporary Instructor for the Apparel & Textile department/GPIDEA online graduate program at K-State. Graduate courses she has taught include Strategic Merchandising and Strategic Economic Analysis of Apparel & Textile Industries.