The Regional Sales Manager for North UK & Ireland will deliver the retail sales targets for all accounts through motivating the store teams to promote Hermès through recruiting, developing and retaining a best-in-class team. He / She will also develop strong relationships with store management and employed beauty advisors to achieve targets as set in line with the Company objectives and will support with delivering the Hermès training objectives to the Field team.

The Regional Sales Manager will lead by example and act as brand ambassador to ensure the highest standards are set and our brand values are communicated effectively both internally and externally.  Never standing still, the ideal candidate will identify and communicate opportunities to grow and increase sales and be a source of inspiration and guidance for the Business Managers.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Strategic Direction

Prepare, implement and monitor a business plan for all doors to achieve retail targets including specific targets for key launches and sites. Implement launch strategies in line with marketing plans, negotiating sites and promotional activity at store level where appropriate.

Team Development & Management

Recruit and retain a strong experienced team for each account. Close management of staffing / agency staffing; monitoring of instore sales performance. Identify and celebrate top performers and nurture their talent.  Ensure all counters adhere to Hermès selling guidelines, service standards, merchandising and personal grooming standards. Conduct annual and quarterly reviews in line with business requirements for all direct reports.  Work very closely with the Head of Retail, and HR Manager on areas of recruitment, salary reviews, performance management, and training & development for the retail population.

Retail Operations

Ensure store management and store employed Beauty Advisers are fully aware of the Marketing Plan, and fully trained on new launches/events and basic assortment. Ensure close monitoring of point-of-sale material (POSM - testers, samples, blotters, glorifiers) and completing and submitting POSM order forms when necessary. Implement and optimise merchandising guidelines on each store visit, ensuring the brand is represented to the highest standard at all times. Oversee and manage the Retail Team Payroll Process, ensuring Business Managers submit the monthly payroll forms on behalf of their team Manage overtime requests in line with budget, including Sundays and Bank Holidays. Maintain accurate records via the Payroll Forms, liaise with the HR Manager to provide a summary of all amendments or deductions.

Targeting, Analysing & Forecasting:

Prepare timely, accurate and meaningful sales reporting highlighting risks and opportunities for growth Set up, monitor and adjust individual Retail Targets and KPIs by store. Recommend, monitor and analyse animation and launch targets. Drive the use of Happy Retail in store to deliver optimal results and achieve KPI targets.

Productivity

Assist in allocation of permanent and temporary staffing budgets. In conjunction with Business Managers, set retail sales, staffing, stock and productivity targets by counter that deliver the company’s budgetary requirements. Motivate and empower the team to exceed retail targets through regular monitoring of productivity (KPIs). Regularly review the performance, opportunities and challenges in individual stores (and across the region) to ensure an appropriate business strategy is applied.

Business

Review distribution, recommending store openings and closures Assist in reviewing classification of accounts, ensuring investment is targeted to high potential/high performance stores. Build network of potential Beauty Advisors on each visit. Recognising and scouting future talent throughout the region Identify space and location opportunities and negotiate locally when possible or recommend optimisation to retail manager Build relationships with store teams to garner influence for Hermes and keep them top of mind Produce ad-hoc reports and support the team for key negotiations with retail partners

Training

Partner closely with the National Training Manager to ensure the Beauty Advisor and Beauty Consultant teams have 5* product expertise.  Coach the team to achieve Service Excellence targets. Train and deliver excellent customer service and selling skills leading by example across both consultant and non-consultant doors. Support and participate in the delivery of BA Seminars bi-annually. Support account and store trainings in stores with direct reports as required.

PROFILE:

Strong communication skills along with experience in managing Beauty Consultants and Key Account Management Ability to build and motivate effective teams Results driven, with a supportive nurturing approach. Proven negotiation and influencing skills to recruit people and secure space in store as required. Strong communication skills – ability to set targets and review performance with own team. Strong organizational skills, ability to manage a varied workload within a fast-paced environment. Genuine affinity with the luxury goods industry Good understanding of retail principles and practices Proven analytical skills and keen attention to detail Strong IT skills including MS Office, especially Excel and PowerPoint