Principal Key Account Representative - Amazon Account

Columbia Sportswear Company

4d • $114,610 - $191,320 • Remote

About The Position

The SOREL Sales team partners with external partners (from wholesale key accounts to independent boutiques) and internal teams including Merchandising, Marketing, and Design to understand the needs of consumers and the realities of the marketplace, as well as how our product best fits in to that equation. The Sales team’s business savviness and sales strategy expertise lends itself to strong partnerships and solid results. As member of the Sales team the Principal Key Account Representative drives sales strategies to support our Amazon account. Uses an enterprise mindset to optimize profitability for both the company and Amazon account. Responsibilities include account presentations, collaborating to analyze/plan account’s financials and in-season management. Additional responsibilities include assortment planning, assisting with projecting and tracking inventory needs and on hands for future production.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 8+ years’ experience in sales of footwear and/or apparel industry experience.
• 5+ years Amazon Fashion account experience required.
• Thorough knowledge of marketing, sales theory, strategy, prospecting, account business planning, forecasting, use of sales aids, and closing techniques
• Knowledge of product lines/services and outdoor industry
• Proven experience in defining retailer value add from markets, outdoor industry, product trends and key data
• Experience leading business reviews and creating marketing plans
• Advanced interpersonal skills, including the ability to quickly build relationships.
• The ability to travel 25% of the time.

Nice To Haves

• Familiar with standard concepts, practices, and procedures within the sales field.
• Strong in written and verbal communication
• Able to handle and work with proprietary, private, and confidential information.
• An out of the box thinker and willing to challenge the status quo – creative ideas and solutions preferred

Responsibilities

• Manage all aspects of the Amazon account by developing and implementing sales strategies that promote the sale and sell through of SOREL product.
• Drives sustainable and profitable sales growth for Amazon's strategic account.
• Harvests and cultivates sales opportunities by leveraging analytics and aligning brand priorities.
• Use sales analytics, product, consumer, and marketplace expertise to construct compelling seasonal Go-to-Market plans. Provides associated business forecasts to internal stakeholders.
• Partners and collaborates with internal and external cross-functional teams to run a best-in-class business.
• Develops growth strategies that align to brand expectations and deliver on goals of increased market share, while elevating brand equity. Partners with leadership to develop short-term growth strategies and provides input into long-term strategies.
• Uses elevated and persuasive storytelling and directive selling techniques to deliver compelling seasonal product presentations.
• Executes and collaborates with internal and external partners to create and implement marketing plans that build consumer awareness, drive conversion, and lead to brand advocacy.
• Leverages marketplace intelligence and consumer insights to create, execute, and shares best practices for activating brand strategy.
• Financial Planning – Understands all components of an upfront financial plan for an account/department and be able to develop a plan for each account. Receipt flow and understanding of retail math are key components
• Performs financial analysis of in-season key metrics, analyzing and managing sell through in season and makes recommendations on order shifts and flows to positively affect the seasonal financials
• Works closely with key accounts to establish appropriate sales goals based on sales history analysis and projected sales trends
• Meets regularly with the buying and management teams of key accounts to project and manage inventory on hand and purchase needs. Meets regularly with SOREL sales management to review sales data and account management.
• Uses strong presentation skills to tell the brand story, initiative stories and product specific presentation at the selling table
• Works closely with SOREL departments to coordinate product presentations and provide information on technical aspects of product including design and materials.
• Manages sales order entry, bulk management, auto replenishment forecasts and order flow and fulfillment
• Works closely with an internal SOREL team of merchants, customer service and planning that is responsible for product planning and production, sales and inventory projections, SMU design, operational and logistics support, and information to all parties to help properly manage key account business.
• Understands and facilitates implementation of key on-line marketing strategies
• Manage all on-line sales components including Brand landing pages, site SKU management and product descriptions
• Responsible for strategies to maintain profitability including off price and promotional offers
• Understand the competition and able to communicate the issues that arise from our competitors to management/merchandising

Benefits

• 401k plan plus a generous company match
• medical
• dental
• vision
• life Insurance
• disability
• flexible spending accounts
• health savings account
• an assortment of voluntary benefit offerings (accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and legal services)
• EAP + which is free and confidential 24/7/365 counseling services
• extensive wellness benefits
• employee discounts
• a generous time off program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior