Job Description
Reporting directly to the Market Manager SoftGoods, our future Area Sales Manager W/M will be :
- Driving sales, promoting the brand and the Apparel & Accessories division to achieve significant sales targets (sell-in & sell through) and ensuring an exceptional consumer experience at his / her assigned accounts and OMNI channel touchpoints.
- Building partnerships with key specialty retailers (Alps area focus) within his / her area by developing joint plans to serve the consumer that benefit both Salomon and the retailer.
- Negotiating the space, managing the planned assortment creation and ensuring a qualitative execution of the Salomon controlled spaces. Implementing & executing a solid sell through program for each store based on instore excellence, consumer activation & sell through data management.
- As the category expert in the country/cluster, the Apparel Sales Expert will focus on the execution of the sell through plan with his/her Apparel retailers and he/she is the critical point of contact for the marketing team regarding the Apparel category.
Main activities :
Sales & Distribution : 30%
- Achieve the seasonal sales and distribution targets in the defined territory/area with his/her selected customers
- Develop a seasonal execution plan to drive Salomon brand guidelines, strategies and priorities
- Builds, presents and coordinates seasonal Joint Business/ Marketing plans with assigned Retailers (Alps Focus) that deliver on strategic objectives of Salomon and maximizes consumer preference and brand experience.
- Meet the seasonal objectives in sales and distribution
- Identify territory sales and distribution opportunities
- Take care of all the customer related topics – sales and accounting aspects
- Negotiate the Salomon Branded Space, ensure product sufficiency/efficiency and manage retail KPI (Sales & profitability/sqm)
Sell Thru & Consumer experience : 70%
- Increase and maximize Salomon in-store brand visibility and image thru defined product assortments, visual merchandising and seasonal key story (best in class consumer experience)
- Ensure a high level of product expertise and brand knowledge (Shop Pro Training) for store employees.
- Manage and executes local consumer activations / events.
- Manage the sell through data in order to accelerate the stock rotation and maximize the consumer satisfaction.
- Coordinate a seamless sell-thru execution, utilizing internal resources (shopper, customer service, IMM)
- Support the instore execution & sell thru plan of some physical Key accounts & strategic Apparel retailers
- Drive the sell through culture in the organization
Relationship
- Develop and maintain great working relationships with key stakeholder in each account
- Develop and maintain close cooperation with Salomon internal community (Aear Sales Managers / Key Account Managers / IMM…)
- Support the KA Team to ensure a solid sell through plan with some of the Key Account (training, VM guidelines, activations)
- Support the marketing Team to ensure an high level of local expertise on the Apparel category.
Reporting
- Prepare and review customer performance report on seasonal basis (pictures, sell thru data…)
- Analyze and report competitor distribution, in-store presence and offer
- Complete all reports and records required and submit on a timely basis
- Share best practice across sales and marketing team
- Share some seasonal feedbacks with the product development team
Qualifications
- Needed Work Experience:
- At least 5 years of experience in sales with a strong Apparel expertise.
- An experience in the retail environment would be also appreciated (Area Manager, Store Manager, Buyer of Seller)
- Any other experience in the Sports and Outdoor Industry will be welcomed
- Education: High school level education minimum
- Foreign Language(s):
- German native or bilingual skills are mandatory
- English fluent skills are mandatory
- French & Italian are a plus
- IT Skills:
- Comfortable with Microsoft office – particularly Excel
- Experience of Sales Tools (sales portal, B2B, SFA)
- Aptitude for learning new computer tools
- Specific Transversal Skills:
- Consumer & sell thru focus
- Good knowledge of the Apparel business
- Sales Expertise
- Negotiation, solution-selling & space management
- Managing objections
- Customer value orientation
- Retail Maths & analytical skills
- Business Acumen
- Strong Communication & Presentation skills
- Digital Skills
- Good knowledge of IT systems
- Relationship-building & interpersonal skills
- High passion for Sports especially Outdoor sports
- Other transversal skills :
- Output orientation: Develop and manage operational results: set themselves ambitious targets, achieve them and know when to step back in order to improve the results. Be proactive, assert themselves when making decisions.
- Sense of customer service: Understand and integrate the needs of internal/external clients, in order to respond adequately in line with the interest of the company.
- Ability to work as a team member and to collaborate: Promote information sharing and team spirit, contribute to collective efficiency.
- Ability to lead and/or support the change: Encourage, bring about and manage the change. Be able to question themselves and adjust their behavior and methods (if necessary) to achieve the expected results
- Creativity and innovation: Explore, make new ideas come to life, striving ceaselessly to improve. Be creative in order to fall within innovation projects regardless of their level of responsibility
- Professional commitment: Demonstrate passion and personal investment in order to develop our brands and products
- Integrity and trust: Respect corporate values and the duty of confidentiality
- Detail the strategic vision: Communicate, give meaning, and anticipate the development of their activities.
Additional Information
Permanent Contract, Full Time
Job based in Innsbruck, AUSTRIA