Business Manager

Empire Merchants North•Town of New Baltimore, NY

About The Position

Empire Merchants North is the premier wine and spirits distributor in Upstate New York, with a history dating back to the end of Prohibition. With over 600 dedicated employees and state-of-the-art facilities, the company is known for both service and quality, earning the loyalty of more than 9,000 area restaurants, bars, hotels, nightclubs, and retail outlets. Empire Merchants North acts as a marketing agent for the brands it represents and employs a knowledgeable and well-equipped sales force. The Business Manager serves as the liaison between a particular supplier or group of suppliers and the house sales and marketing teams to execute sales and marketing strategies and achieve company financial objectives. This role is the in-house expert on a specific portfolio, managing all aspects of the supplier’s business with the house and providing a critical link between the sales and marketing departments.

Requirements

Results driven
Strong comprehension of competitive landscape and market dynamics
Completes all necessary training programs by attending, participating, and passing all required tests as defined by management (e.g. WSSM, TOPS, FOCUS MARKETING, ANALYTICAL TRAINING)
Maintains market and sales understanding by conducting sales work-withs on a regular basis as prescribed by management
Maintains professional and industry knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks and participating in professional societies
Maintains customer confidence and protects operations by keeping information confidential
Maintains a safe and clean working environment by complying with procedures, rules and regulations

Responsibilities

Builds the annual plan/calendar, determines the pricing plan and promotional calendar and designs sales force incentives by closely collaborating with supplier partner(s) and aligning supplier and Empire Merchants North goals.
Modifies planning calendar as necessary by continually evaluating opportunities.
Maintains and grows gross profit for the company by negotiating price supports, validating internal depletion allowances, and managing budgets for the year.
Where applicable, administers the pricing plan by filing with state and validating pricing for publication and communicates current and available pricing to sales force.
Forecasts adequate supply for all sales programs and ensures that appropriate inventory levels are maintained by closely collaborating with internal purchasing contact.
Defines, manages, and approves supplier and internal spend (banks) to accomplish annual plan by creating budget, and tracking spend on a monthly basis to ensure spend does not exceed budget.
Ensures achievement of supplier plan by translating plan into divisional sales goals, defining target accounts, communicating goals to sales team and tracking performance against goal.
Participates in planning and preparation of General Sales Meetings by translating brands’ features and benefits into sell sheets, concept sells and other selling materials and attending/presenting brand initiatives and marketing strategies.
Oversees and approves supplier bill-backs, together with the finance manager, and manages supplier accounts receivable by ensuring account information is coordinated with accounting team.
Coordinates supplier meetings, ride-withs, winery visits, blitzes and target account spend activity and shares data as needed with supplier by communicating with all sales management as well as managing work-flow, and calendars.
Creates and distributes in coordination with marketing, supplier specific newsletters and videos, by collecting and recapping best practices and program results.
Develops and participates in the delivery of supplier business reviews and monthly supplier communication meetings by preparing content and working with senior management to codify information.
Maintains a relevant inventory of point of sale materials by working with suppliers to determine types and quantities of POS that should be ordered, when necessary, assisting in the design of any custom POS, and working closely with sales management to dispose of aged POS.
As appropriate, manages supplier allocated products by working with necessary departments to administer the set-up and release of these allocations to approved accounts.
Help guide supplier decision making by employing strong comprehension of competitive landscape and market dynamics.
Completes all necessary training programs by attending, participating, and passing all required tests as defined by management (e.g. WSSM, TOPS, FOCUS MARKETING, ANALYTICAL TRAINING).
Maintains market and sales understanding by conducting sales work-withs on a regular basis as prescribed by management.
Maintains professional and industry knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks and participating in professional societies.
Maintains customer confidence and protects operations by keeping information confidential.
Maintains a safe and clean working environment by complying with procedures, rules and regulations.
Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.
Where applicable, supervises Business Analyst.

Benefits

Competitive compensation package
Salary Range: $75,000 - $100,000 year
Annual bonus potential
Mileage reimbursement
Paid Holidays
Health Plan options (medical, dental, disability coverage, life insurance, and other voluntary plans)
401K
PTO
Vacation accrual
Flexible Spending Account