Job: Wholesale Director (Jewelry & Accessories)

Our Client

Our client for this great Wholesale Director career opportunity is a leading lifestyle Jewelry, watches and accessories company vertically integrated, manufacturing, selling and distributing their products globally. They are well established worldwide, but at the early stages in the US.

Objective

As the Wholesale Director, you will be responsible for establishing and developing the wholesale business on the US domestic market for the brand, identifying any gap in the market and propose brand penetration to upper management accordingly. Distribution is mainly done through Department Stores, but also through a network of agents and distributors.

Ideal Profile

The ideal candidate for this role is a senior wholesale professional with strong experience in the US domestic market working with the jewelry category. A deep knowledge of US department stores is a very strong advantage (Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus…). We really need a true “sales hunter” and business developer who can open the doors of those national department stores accounts! Strong entrepreneurial mindset is required!

Responsibilities

• develop a successful wholesale strategy and oversee its implementation in the local market as well as finalize and execute seasonal sales budgets
• discuss and set the business/sales targets/objectives together with the Area Sales Managers and HQ
• coordinate and achieve the business targets agreed for the wholesale business within the territory.
• support and lead the Area Sales Managers so that all qualitative and quantitative targets are achieved as required by the Company using the tools provided.
• be up-to-date with company policies and processes (warehouse situation, delivery periods, hallmarking etc.) and inform the Area Sales Managers accordingly so that the information is passed on to our customers
• provide quarterly forecasts and ad hoc forecasts, if requested by the upper management and HQ
• be responsible for the activities of the Area Sales Managers and meet with them regularly in their regions as well as in the Local Head Office and/or the Global one.
• support the Area Sales Managers and the Wholesale Visual Merchandising team to produce quarterly “roll out”/work plans and monitor sales managers´ quarterly/half year journey plans (e.g. target areas, potential & standard analysis) and to approve journey plans, expense claims reports, holiday requests submitted by the Area Sales Managers
• recruit and train the Area Sales Managers in conjunction with the local HR and provide them with ongoing support
• perform regular evaluations on the Area Sales Managers and the In-­‐House Support Team as requested by the company´s policies (Induction after 2, 4 and 6 months from hiring, Appraisals twice a year).
• review salary levels from time to time and agree bonus payments
• be directly responsible for National Key Accounts and manage a territory as required by the company and depending on the structure of the local Operations
• review new account proposals submitted by the Area Sales Managers
• work closely with the Wholesale Visual Merchandising team in monitoring the Retailers both via visits and photographs so that merchandising standards are met and maintain across all our portfolio
• ensure that furniture sales targets are met in all territories so that shop presence of the brand is improved across all accounts
• organize in conjunction with the Area Sales Managers regular sales meetings, customer presentations/events as Please note that these can occur during weekends and/or bank holidays and they require attendance.

Requirements

• Strong “sales hunter” / business developer with existing connections in the Jewelry and Accessories departments of large department stores
• Strong team manager able to recruit, manage, develop and motivate
• Profit driven but with quality to maintain brand image
• Strong experience of the US domestic market
• Strong financial and planning skills
• IT literate mostly with Excel and PowerPoint
• Appreciated previous tittles: Retail Manager, Retail Director, Wholesale Manager, Wholesale Director
• Appreciated previous experience: Aurora, Braun, AT Cross, Lifetrons, Montblanc, Agatha, Baccarat, Clogau Gold, Festina, Frey Wille, Lambretta, Misaki, Pandora, Swarovski, Tous, L’Oreal, LVMH, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, Richemont, Cartier
• Appreciated previous titles: Wholesale Manager, Wholesale Director, National Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager