BRAND SPECIALIST / RETAIL EXPERT
Brooks England Ltd is currently seeking a Brand Specialist to add to the current team to develop the North American market. The professional will be hired and will collaborate with our U.S. based company. The professional will report directly to the management at the company’s headquarters in Europe on a regular basis. We are looking for candidates based both in U.S. and Canada.
EXPERIENCE & SKILLS
It would be of preference that the Brand Specialist has acquired some qualified experience in one or more of the following fields:
-retail sales as agent or area manager
-in store product promotion
-training of sales people and retailers
-trade show organization and management
-public relations
The candidate should have previously worked for other brand-oriented companies in sales & marketing and is used to working independently. He has good skills of leadership and likes to work in a team. The Brand Specialist will in fact be responsible for training the distributor’s sales representatives and retailers of the assigned area.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The job requires the person to travel about 60-70% of the working time in his territory. An initial training period visiting both the headquarters in Italy and the factory in England is required.
Every year, the Brand Specialist will spend a few weeks at the mother company’s headquarters in Italy and England and participate in corporate events such as meetings, training clinics, trade shows or consumer events in North America.
A candidate with passion for bicycles, and knowledge or curiosity for British culture and products will be preferred, as BROOKS is a brand steeped in British cycling history. Of course, interest in urban lifestyle trends will complete the profile.
The Brand Specialist activity can be broken down into three general categories: Education & Training, Evaluation of Market Trends, and Management of the Dealers of Excellence Programme.
Education & Training - The Brooks Brand Specialist acts as a liaison between the company and our retailers. The Specialist will regularly visit our dealer base to educate our partners on specific products, concepts and initiatives of the company.
Evaluation of Market Trends - Through a regular rotation of shop visits, the Brooks Brand Specialist is in a unique position to gauge current trends in cycling lifestyle and more in general in the cycling market. By observing the retail environment of our sales partners and gathering feedback from shop owners and employees, the Brand Specialist has the information and resources by which evaluate the Brooks brand position in the cycling industry and beyond. Of course, being an attentive observer of what he sees going around both in the cycling culture and more in general in fashion and lifestyle trends, the Specialist provides direct feedback to the company regarding new product opportunities, potential marketing strategies, and retailer and consumer impressions of the brand and its products.
Dealers of Excellence Programme - The Brooks Brand Specialist oversees the Dealers of Excellence programme for his or her territory. Being an iconic and revered brand, Brooks values its dealer base in a special way. By participating in the Dealers of Excellence programme, retail shops have the opportunity to create a stronger relationship with the Brooks brand. Through the programme we seek, discover and appraise our finest dealers in order to reward, motivate and support them. The Brooks Brand Specialist is the key contact and resource for our registered dealers helping, if necessary, in the registration process. As the main goal is to create a national database of Dealers of Excellence, he will do whatever is needed, like collecting information and taking pictures, in order to build the dealer’s page.
On a yearly basis, all Dealers of Excellence are evaluated or re-evaluated in order to maintain a current database. The Brand Specialist is charged with the task of making recommendations on rating levels to the company, growing and nurturing current dealers, and seeking out new opportunities to add to our Dealers of Excellence database.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Our company dates back to the roots of cycling. Founded in 1866, Brooks England manufactures and sells bicycle saddles, bags and other components and accessories. In 2002, the company became part of the Selle Royal Group, one of the most successful companies of the cycling industry. Since the acquisition, Brooks England kept the factory in Birmingham, but relocated Marketing and Sales management in Italy at the general headquarters of the group.
In the last few years we have re-launched the brand and expanded the product range to appeal to a new breed of more fashion-conscious cyclist. Recently we developed a multichannel distribution strategy to market our products not only to the top bicycle dealers, but also to outdoor retail specialists and fashion shops.
CONTRACT & SALARY
The job is full time and permanent with an initial one-year contract.
The gross salary is based on the candidate’s experience and talent.
APPLICATIONS & INTERVIEWS
Candidates need to send their applications using the form at: