Sales Support Specialist – ALTRA RUNNING in Pederobba, Italy

Live the Brand – ALTRA RUNNING

Founded in 2009, Altra Running is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It all started when Golden Harper started cutting up and reconfiguring existing running shoes in hopes of designing something better. Along with co-founders, Brian Beckstead, Jeremy Howlett and Quirl Jacob Hansen, he came up with the idea for a “Zero Drop” shoe, meaning that the goal was to create shoes that lacked a height differential between the heel and toe area. When you consider that many of today’s athletic shoes pad the heel so much that they resemble high heels, this was a revolutionary idea! When no companies expressed interest in the design, the foursome partnered with Pulse Labs (an engineering firm at Brigham Young University), contracted manufacturers in Asia and launched Altra Footwear on their own. The name “Altra” is derived from the Latin word “altera,” which means “to fix or mend something that is broken.”

Let’s talk about the role

As part of a national sales team focusing on the development and support of ALTRA’s accounts, the remit is to represent the brand in-market, drive account performance and specifically sales turnover through staff training and development of ALTRA retail partners, stock management, customer and market analysis, sales and trade marketing support and instore presentation.

The selected candidate will be responsible for the back end of the commercial process ensuring efficiency, precision, and timely execution, enabling the results for the brand for all accounts with a prioritization on the biggest and fastest growing one.

What you will do

Staff training:

• Arrange comprehensive travel plans designed to provide regular and frequent store coverage, on a tiered basis, of all account doors.

• Ensure that all administration is completed accurately and sent to the relevant people on time.

• To maximise sales, through product and brand knowledge allied with excellent customer service.

• Conduct staff training sessions for retail partners, both formal and informal, ensuring that all staff are fully conversant with the features and benefits of the relevant ALTRA product range and to ensure that they are motivated to sell those products. This will include both instore and ‘on the hill training’

• Develop the staff training program and become the internal product expert raising standards and levels of expertise throughout the organisation including the Sales Representatives and their specialty account base.

• Having a good product knowledge, be the ‘expert’ on Brand technologies within the team.

Brand excellence

• Feedback to Sales teams any sell through data, stock holding information (stock counts), display potential, competitor activity and any other information to assist the Sales force and Marketing departments

• To build excellent instore relationships to ensure product is displayed in the best position & to ensure retail presentation is of a high standard. This includes the implementation of trade marketing initiatives and ensuring the accuracy and quality of ALTRA’s POS materials.

• Provide quality feedback to the Sales manager and Sales Reps on customer and market data in order to aid account management and sales presentations.

• Provide support to the customer’s sales and marketing activities. This includes staffing events including tent shows, store openings and, on occasions, key selling periods.

• Act as both a sweeper to the Sales Manager and Sales Reps on all relevant customer activities and as a consistent contact for the account base.

• Ad hoc operational requests (team, key stakeholders and accounts)

• Order entry support across

• Product documentation & content to support the accounts onboarding process.

Ambassadors impact

• Lead the T-RED ambassadors in country to spread the word on ALTRA in local communities. This includes training the ambassadors on the product and brand benefits, providing feedback on their performance and leveraging on the programme to amplify marketing initiatives locally.

​ Internal support

• Manage and co-ordinate the set-up, organisation and smooth running of the showroom for each selling season. This will be a fully comprehensive task requiring everything from design and theme input, physical preparation and installation of the showroom, full sample management, presentation support and provision supply.

• Sales responsibility for the smaller direct territory sales accounts and lead the direct selling showroom days for these B2B accounts.

• Main support for the sales agents

• effective and commercially successful management of the specified geographical region for the B2B accounts , critically achieving the key financial targets set on an annual and seasonal basis.

Skills for success

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and /or abilities required for the individual to be successful in this position.

• Experience: Retail experience essential, preferably from within running and outdoor sector. Previous staff training experience desirable

• Leadership: Able to motivate & influence the store team

• Language skills: N/A

• Other Skills: Ability to be on the road regularly, as this position will require frequent travel

• Enthusiasm for/actively participating in the outdoor lifestyle

• Good planning/organisational skills

• Self motivated, having initiative

• Strong communication skills, outgoing , engaging, persuasive style

• Able to build good relationships

What’s in it for you?

Most companies like to say they offer a competitive salary, an amazing bonus/benefit and pension scheme as well as staff discounts (btw we offer 50%!). We also do this, only quite different. Because it’s not just our products which set us apart from others. It’s our people and we believe they deserve to be nurtured and looked after.

That’s why, on top of the usual benefits, we offer much more:

• Career ownership, enabling you to build your knowledge and experience across different brands and even different countries.

• A supportive feedback-based culture where respect and integrity guide us in what we do.

• Tailored training. From a thorough induction to ongoing online and face-to-face training, we are committed to helping you grow, both professionally and personally.

• An inclusive environment where people of diverse backgrounds, lifestyles and nationalities love working together.

• On site gym offering health and well-being initiatives.

• Subsidised canteen as well as break out areas offering complimentary hot drinks.

Free to be, Inclusion & Diversity

As a purpose-led, performance driven company, we strive to foster a culture of belonging based on respect, connection, openness and authenticity. We are committed to building and maintaining a workplace that celebrates the diversity of our associates, allowing them to bring their authentic selves to work every day.

As an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, VF is committed to support disadvantaged groups whilst providing equal opportunities for both VF associates and applicants alike.

If you like what you have read and want to join the journey of our team then we would like to hear from you!

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VF Diversity Vision Statement
VF is committed to creating an inclusive environment that welcomes and values the differences among all of our associates, customers, suppliers and the communities in which we live and conduct business. The continued success and growth of VF is enhanced through initiatives that promote diversity throughout VF around the world.VF is an equal employment opportunity/ affirmative action employer of minorities, females, protected veterans and the disabled. VF is committed to providing equal opportunities in employment, and treating our VF associates and VF applicants without discrimination on the basis of their race, color, gender, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, citizenship, disability, protected veteran status, HIV/AIDS status, or any other legally protected factor.