The Barbour story began in 1894 in South Shields in the North East of England. Founder John Barbour began supplying oilskins and other garments to protect the growing community of sailors, fishermen and dockers. Still family owned and now fifth generation, Barbour HQ remains in South Shields. Under the leadership of Chairman Dame Margaret Barbour, Barbour has grown into a lifestyle brand sold in over 55 countries worldwide including Europe, the US and Asia offering a wardrobe of stylish functional clothing, footwear and accessories inspired by the unique values of the British countryside. The iconic Barbour Bedale and Barbour Beaufort wax jackets continue to be made by hand in the factory in South Shields. In 2020, Barbour launched Wax for Life, an overarching name for all of Barbour’s wax services designed to encourage customers to extend the life of their wax garments. Wax for Life includes re-waxing and repairs (first introduced in 1921) and Barbour Re-Loved an upcycling circularity initiative. Each year over 70,000 wax garments are sent back to Barbour globally to be repaired, rewaxed or altered.
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Account Manager – Footwear & Accessories to join the Barbour Sales team. The role reports into the Head of Footwear & Accessories Sales and is responsible for achieving profitable sales in line with sales targets through managing accounts within the assigned territory and growing distribution in line with sales strategy. A key focus of the role is to achieve sales targets through managing established footwear & accessory accounts (including dog accounts) and developing new distribution in line with UK sales strategy, producing sales forecasts, account plans and regular trading updates and in season sales for the account portfolio.
Educated to a degree level.
Experience in regional and area account management.
Experience in managing brand distribution and category segmentation.
Experience in managing sell-through activities, in-store display and influencing sell-out.
Knowledge of the footwear and accessory industry, notably in women’s accessories.
Strategic planning and budget planning skills.
Sales forecasting and range planning at account level.
Execution of product and account channel distribution segmentation.
Identifying and developing new business opportunities.
Information Technology including: MS Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills to build strong relationships internally and externally.
Excellent ability to undertake presentations at individual and group level.
Negotiation and objection handling skills.
Ability to analyse external and internal numerical data and translate into actions.
Strong problem solving and decision-making skills.
Creative thinking and ability to translate into practical applications.
Time management and structured journey planning experience.