Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization: 

 Act as a General Manager by creating & executing Go To Market plans for the Business Unit to drive brand and business success within guidelines set by Global Business Units (BUs) 

  

Key Responsibilities:  

Drive & develop 3-5 year category plan based on overall adidas SBP process (in collaboration with Global) 

Provide BU leadership category across all related functions & departments (Owner of Japan CFT - BA, SpoMa, Channels, Fin, SCM, etc) on vision, strategic objectives/actions & financial targets as defined in brand SBP;  

Drive GTM with focusing on Product – Story - Availability 

Responsible for category forecast within IBP across all channels. 

Deliver financial expectations in NS and Sell out across all channels. 

Set & monitor Japan pricing corridor for category range. 

Define & implement Japan channels allocation for global allocated products. 

Define category CI and lead the communication with Global BU to get Japan needs prioritized. 

Deliver powerful, compelling, commercial, viable range/concept selection for Japan to support the overall brand strategy, purpose & direction. 

Define category calendar, and propose desired MWB allocation by key concepts with Japan BA 

Lead all creation needs, validate SMU requests for Japan and leverage CCT & CCS to fulfill Japan needs to support the SBP. 

Lead and Own Seasonal Category activation and Franchise calendar, including being consultant for Account SWB calendar. 

Take responsibility for Sell-through of the category across Japan, be able to provide insights and to drive actions behind the performance tracking dashboards and share update with Global BU 

Proactively drive category mitigation plan when OTB having the gap 

Develop team sales strategy and implement execution together with cross functional teams. 

Host and manage global BU visit. 

 

KPI’s: 

Market P&L for category (NS, Std Margin, Contribution) 

Sell Out all channels 

5 year category plan : achievement of key initiatives 

Brand & key categories NPS 

Execution excellence in brand concepts/stories 

Market share 

  

Key Relationships: 

Global BU 

Brand Activation, CTC, countries CTC 

MOPS, PMO 

Demand Planning, SCM, Finance (marketing ROI) 

Sales (all channels) 

  

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 

Ability to develop and implement strategy. 

Proven leadership and management abilities especially in managing a diverse team (incl. remote management) 

Strong presentation/communication, negotiation and influencing skills, especially with senior stakeholders within a global matrix organization. 

Broad Marketing experience, with a distinct track record of success and expert Merchandising knowledge 

Strong cross-functional and stakeholder management experience across commercial functions (e.g. marketing, sales, etc.) and support functions (finance preferred), as well as different organizational levels (Global, Market, etc.) 

Strong industry knowledge, across divisions—footwear, apparel, and accessories—and across all Bus. 

Expert understanding of Japan markets’ consumers, accounts, economic environment and commercial needs 

  

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications: 

10+ years of experience in merchandising/product, marketing, sales/retail required. Regional experience preferred. 

University degree in Business or equivalent professional experience, ideally in Sales and/or Marketing 

Previous experience in managing a global matrix organization required 

Fluent in English 

Willingness to travel upwards of 20% of time