New York, Sep 12 (IANS): Indian American fashion consultant Roopal Patel has been appointed the fashion director of the Saks Fifth Avenue store chain, a media report said.

Patel is an expert in trend forecasting and the retailer has pinned hopes on her to retain a current image and shopping experience of the store, luxurydaily.com reported on Friday.

She has been recruited as the part of the leadership overhaul.

Patel will be responsible for selecting trends to stock, creating a story for each season and finding new designers and collections.

The store has also appointed 15-year Saks veteran Marc Metrick as president and Tracy Margolies as the chief merchant recently.

"Roopal is a respected force in the industry with high energy and a deep understanding of today's luxury fashion consumer, and we are so pleased to welcome her to Saks," Metrick was quoted as saying.

Keeping in mind the seismic changes on multiple fronts in retail industry, Saks re-organised its leadership structure and is now trying to inject a dose of stability with its leadership placements.

"I am confident that her demonstrated expertise in trend direction combined with Tracy's leadership in fashion merchandising, will be invaluable as we continue to elevate the brand and position Saks as a modern and relevant fashion authority in luxury retailing," he added.

Earlier, Patel was the senior fashion director at "Neiman Marcus Groupa but resigned after serving for a decade and joined online trunk show retailer "Moda Operandi". She has also worked at Bergdorf Goodman.

Later, she founded her own "Luxury Fashion" consulting company in 2012.