Sales Account Manager

at  Ben Sherman Head Office

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Manage all customer accounts effectively, maintaining sales for existing accounts and seeking new opportunities to achieve / exceed targeted budgeted sales / margins.
• Identifying incremental business opportunities within the UK and overseas.
• Forecast and generate yearly budgets with weekly / monthly / quarterly updates and ensuring sales and target margins are met.
• Monitor customer sales performance and sales patterns to service their requirements effectively.
• Working closely with the product and merchandise team to ensure orders are collated, placed, and delivered as required.
• Identifying seasonal product opportunities.
• Supporting accounts with marketing material / seasonal photography.
• Working alongside the product, merchandising and QA team to ensure garment quality and delivery are as per the customers requirements.
• Negotiating with customers on prices, payment terms and delivery to ensure that sales and margin are achieved.
• Establish and maintain working partnerships alongside buying team with the existing and future supplier base – constantly appraising and updating supply base for changing business & customer requirements.
• Ensuring all departments within BSI team are aware of customer and supplier procedures covering IT/Importing & Exporting Logistics/ Finance/QA/Warehousing departments, to be reviewed and updated seasonally.
• Preparation of showroom with support of the buying team for all key customer meetings.

KEY SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Strong experience in sourcing & sales in the Menswear sector across both casualwear & formalwear.
• Fabric experience would be an advantage.
• Thorough understanding of mens casualwear & formalwear development process & production from design concept to finished delivered goods.
• Understanding of shipping, export & import process – experience with direct working with overseas suppliers.
• Exposure to sales / customer / working relationships.
• In depth understanding of the Budgeting process.
• Broad knowledge / understanding of the clothing industry and trading environment.
• Ability to work under pressure / timeline.
• Self-motivated and motivating.
• Commercial awareness.
• To be numerate and proficient in the relevant IT programmes - Microsoft and Illustrator
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Good organisational skills.
• Efficient negotiation skills.
• Build strong and lasting relationships through supply chain & customer base.
• Confident comminutor & presenter.
• Happy to travel/stay overnight to attend meetings.

• To further develop & extend an existing off-price business across the Ben Sherman Brand. Targeting Off Price customers within the UK and overseas.
• Ensuring that all budget requirements are achieved for the financial year.
• Identifying new product opportunities – developing those opportunities working with product & Freelance Design within tight time restraints.
• Controlling / quantifying and initiating stock requirements to maximise sales opportunities.