Belstaff
Head of Sales - Wholesale (Footwear & Accessories)
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The Role
The Head of Sales – Wholesale (Footwear & Accessories) will lead the global growth, wholesale strategy, and distribution for the footwear and accessories divisions of Belstaff. This pivotal role is responsible for driving both national & international expansion across key fashion and footwear retailers, department stores, independent boutiques, and regional distributors worldwide.
We are seeking a dynamic, hands-on, and highly entrepreneurial leader who thinks outside the box and thrives in an adaptive, fast-paced commercial environment.
The ideal candidate will combine strong commercial acumen with deep product expertise across footwear and leather goods/accessories—identifying regional market needs, pinpointing product white spaces, and collaborating closely with design, development, marketing, and supply chain teams to ensure our multi-category product matrix wins in a highly competitive global marketplace.
Responsibilities
Strategic Growth & Sales Management
- Global Sales Strategy: Develop and execute an ambitious international wholesale and distribution strategy for Belstaff footwear and accessories to expand market share and drive top-line revenue growth.
- Account Acquisition & Retention: Actively pitch to, negotiate with, and secure key global footwear and lifestyle retailers, major department stores, and top-tier independent accounts.
- Distributor & Partner Management: Identify, appoint, and manage high-performing international sales agencies and regional distributors, establishing clear KPIs, territories, and performance targets.
- Commercial Forecasting & Budgeting: Oversee sales targets, budgeting, trade margin structures, and seasonal order books, providing accurate seasonal sales forecasts and commercial reporting across both product categories.
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Product Alignment & Market Insights
- Product Requirements & Feedback: Act as the voice of the market by collecting structured feedback from retailers and consumers regarding styling, fit, pricing, materials, and regional product trends for both footwear and accessories.
- Product Assortment & Range Building: Partner closely with Design and Merchandising to build tailored, commercially viable seasonal range plans and market-specific capsules (combining shoes, bags, leather goods, and lifestyle accessories) that win against competitors.
- Hands-on Market Execution: Personally lead showroom presentations, attend major global trade fairs (e.g., Pitti Uomo, MICAM, Premiere Classe), and conduct regular field visits across key territories.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Innovation
- Cross-Team Collaboration: Partner seamlessly with Marketing, E-commerce, Production, Logistics, and Supply Chain to ensure aligned product drops, impactful POS marketing, and efficient order fulfillment across all wholesale doors.
- Out-of-the-Box Commercial Initiatives: Develop creative commercial partnerships, cross-category packages (footwear + accessories bundling), special product collaborations, and innovative distribution strategies to elevate brand visibility and drive sell-through.
- Competitive Intelligence: Monitor market dynamics, pricing landscapes, and competitor positioning across both the footwear and premium accessories sectors to continuously adapt trade terms and sales tactics.
Skills & Experience
- Industry Expertise: Extensive experience in wholesale sales and brand distribution within the premium, luxury, or heritage footwear and accessories/leather goods sectors.
- International Distribution Network: Proven track record of expanding wholesale accounts and managing international distributors and sales agencies across Europe, North America, APAC, and key emerging markets.
- Commercial Success: Demonstrated history of delivering revenue growth, increasing sell-through rates, and opening key accounts with top global department stores and multi-brand retailers.
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Skills & Competencies
- Hands-On & Adaptive Leadership: A proactive, "roll-up-your-sleeves" mindset with the agility to pivot strategies in response to shifting market conditions.
- Strategic & Creative Thinking: Ability to think outside conventional wholesale models to identify untapped opportunities, cross-merchandising strategies, and innovative market entry approaches.
- Multi-Category Product Acumen: Deep understanding of footwear construction, leather goods manufacturing, pricing architecture, margin requirements, and seasonal merchandising dynamics.
- Negotiation & Relationship Building: Superior negotiation, presentation, and relationship-management skills, with an extensive network of global buyers and distributors.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Exceptional communication skills with a proven ability to align design, marketing, finance, and operations toward unified commercial goals.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We will not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, marital status, disability, age, sexual orientation or religion. We are committed to a fair and accessible recruitment process for all candidates so if you would like us to make any adjustments to the application or interview process, please let us know and we will be happy to support you.
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