The Head of Business Development is responsible for driving explosive growth for Sazerac in Japan, beginning with building distribution for a dedicated portfolio and ensuring perfect store execution. Driving merchandising guidelines while building relationships and knowledge to adjust the way forward. This is a great chance to be part of the journey from the beginning – a new approach, requiring resilience and hands-on personality.
Key Responsibilities
- Monitor market trends in the country and key cities. Understanding of consumers, customer and category trends and developing actionable insights.
- Closely working with commercial lead and distributors on executing the Sazerac convenience store strategy for Japan – a new approach, requiring resilience and hands-on personality
- Proactively identifying and convincing potential outlets and ensuring in-store execution of our brands
- Independent building, managing and follow ups of customer relations
- Developments and closing of corporation agreements incl. Agreed listings and executions and business development
- Manage distributors and their merchandisers to scale the strategy execution into more outlets to establish perfect stores.
- Conduct training for distributor sales team on merchandising standard and rolling out programs in the trade.
- Building an own network of relevant industry contacts
- Close collaboration with commercial lead and distributors to align own tasks with aligned strategy
- Creating and analysing reportings (volume, rate of sale and distribution points) and tracking of kpis, provide proctive suggestions to improve the mutual business
- Organisation of sampling and other activation activities
- Proactive participation on relevant trade shows
- Closely working with commercal lead and (trade) marketing teams to develop relevant joint business planning, business review, pos tools and sales folders
- Allocate 1-2 days/week for external business meeting and tracking of on-ground execution in the horeca and modern trade segment
- Highly motivated individual (self starter) with hands-on mentality, excellent communication, execution, negotiation, influencing, and follow up skills
- 8+ years sales experience, preferably in spirits or beer, softdrinks industry in Japan
- Minimum 5 years of experience in developing business for spirits / beer / ready to drink / energy drinks categories in convenience (CVS) channel, experienced in generating new listings
- Has established network of contacts in Japan convenience and wholesale channels.
- HORECA channels connection and experience is a plus
- Negotiating skills and strong understanding of trading term agreement with convenience channels.
- Experience in crafting joint business plan with key chain accounts.
- Demonstrated ability to build collaborative partnerships with trade customers, wholesalers and internal cross-functional teams – customer oriented mindset
- Strategic thinker, fast adopter (flexibility) with strong acumen for excellent field execution (again hands-on is needed)
- Creativity in building pos activations
- Resilient, entrepreneurial and result oriented mindset
- Fluent in Japanese language and sufficient in English
- Bachelor's degree or relevant education
- Ability to travel up to 50%
- Capable to work in MS Office (excel, powerpoint)