Job: Country Manager – Furniture Retail

Our Client

Our client is a large French furniture manufacturer and retailer. They are opening their US operations supported by a well developed US retailer.

Objective

The Country Manager will be responsible for overseeing the development and the operational management of the company in the United States through Retail (1 store opening and 2 opening soon), ecommerce and BtoB.

In charge of the P & L, our Country Manager will carry out his mission by relying on the the retail partner operational teams based in Miami (including Finance, Marketing, Logistics, sales, BtoB and Web) ,the Franchise / US teams of the Company and the E-Commerce & marketing teams based in France

Job Description

Implement brand strategy

• Conduct a permanent competitive intelligence on the one hand and control all elements of the Brand Marketing Mix, on the other hand to help the upper manager within the Company and the US retail partner to adjust the concept and adapt the most precisely to the US market
• Adjust and propose the strategy taking into consideration country regulations and cultural guidelines, product positioning and global marketing development
• Define the potential of the BtoB market and support the launch of this activity (prospecting, trade shows, etc.)
• Follow the implementation of the Web strategy (Ecommerce & CRM)
• Coordinate and ensure the smooth running of the marketing and promotional plan,

Develop operational plans

• Adjust and validate the assortment proposals by activity (MEU / DECO / MLP) in connection with The Company Franchise / US teams and in accordance with the financial objectives and stock constraints.
• Work to improve operational processes (sales, logistics, customer service etc.) and set up management tools and manuals in stores ; define the omni-channel process between stores & e-commerce
• Integrate into the IT system all the necessary data (product nomenclature, price, etc.)
• Follow the evolution of the negotiations with the landlords to anticipate and coordinate the opening process in connection with the The Company and the US Retail Partner teams
• Manage the entire logistics process (France-> US warehouse (s) and Warehouse (s) US-> stores) to ensure that the stores always have the right stock (in quality and quantity). Also manage inventories and stock movements monitoring (breakage, transfer, etc.)
• Follow the IT developments to ensure the fluidity and reliability of IT flows

Recruit & train staff

• Recruit sales teams in store and ensure that they are trained, competent and aligned with the target structures previously defined.

Generate progress report

• Develop and submit weekly, monthly or quarterly performance and progress reports for France and US teams
• Ensure the proper tracking of sales orders, from the order to the final delivery to customers

Requirements

• Graduate degree, with 8 to 12 years of experience in retail and digital, as well as the experience of launching a retail brand in the United States
• Able to work in a project, transversal and collaborative mode.
• Already demonstrated strong communication, organizational skills and business track record
• Bilingual French English
• Appreciated previous experience: Ikea, West Elm, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Create & Barrel, CB2,Lilian August, Roche-Bobois, Mitchell Gold, Cassina, B&B Italia, Flair, Ligne Roset, BIF
• Appreciated previous titles: Regional Retail Manager, General Manager, Head of Retail, Director of Stores