Area Sales Manager

Job Title: Area Sales Manager

Reports to: Regional Sales Manager II Skip level: National Sales Director

Location: Hyderabad/Salem/Coimbatore

Why we exist?

We believe life tastes better with Ice Cream. We exist to bring the power of ice cream to more people, in more places, in new and unexpected ways. As our founder Mr Wall's already said in 1922, ‘By taking pleasure seriously”. We truly embody this and are creating the world’s largest IC company to accelerate these extraordinary ice cream experiences for more people around the globe.

About the company: Unilever, world’s 3rd largest CPG company with revenues of $60mn, has announced the spinoff of its Ice cream business group and form an independent company.  Ice cream as a business system has very different character & a distinct business system when compared to other Unilever categories as it requires a dedicated cold chain GTM, it’s an impulse category and needs larger distributive and multichannel OOH footprint, needs agility to manage seasonality and rigour in front end execution.

This bold move leads the creation of an iconic pure play ice cream company “MAGNUM IC Company” which operates in 85 countries with a revenue of $9.5bn globally, the global business is headquartered in Amsterdam. Magnum IC company houses world’s most iconic brands like Magnum / Ben & Jerry, Cornetto, Breyers , Walls and Grom. This separation gives us boost to accelerate fast in the highly attractive $1 trillion snacking and refreshment industry, growing consistently globally.

Magnum IC Company in India: In India, Kwality Wall’s (brand of Hindustan Unilever) is a large IC business with national presence. The HUL board has approved the demerger of Kwality Walls India business as a separate listed entity. Hence KWIL will be 100% part of the Magnum IC company with its India head office in Mumbai.

The Role at Hand : Key responsibilities which the role holder will be expected to deliver

Area sales manager is the key pillar for the Kwality Walls Ice Cream company. The person will be required to drive & build the business in his/ her area (a) Deliver revenue growth in general trade (b) Create market development strategy & execute it– distribution growth, visibility, core range selling and delivery of sales targets through extended sales system (C.) Manage and lead distributors (D) Lead a direct team of 5-6 sales officers and 40+ indirect sales executives.

In IC - sales manager leads market development, which requires the person to think quarterly growth of distribution (expansion), clearly plan ahead the need of cold chain infrastructure, which the distributor has to deliver. Partner and negotiate with distributor to get the required capital infusion and investments in the business and also make sure business partners (distributors) make the committed ROI, so they remain invested in KW business.  The key component of market development is distribution expansion in line with Impulse category, growing new accounts, managing cost to serve and winning volume and value market share.

 This role is high on execution, as IC is highly competitive category and is very competitive. The sales manager is expected to drive every day great execution (availability, visibility and right assortment in every freezer) deliver perfect store and perfect assortment metric and be in market visiting sales areas and meeting distributors atleast 3 days in a week. 

The person will also be responsible for the forecasting of his  business / SKU needs and should work with supply teams for stock replenishment & carrying right inventory always. As its sales manager responsibility to drive primary and secondary availability

Area sales manager holds the annual JBP and quarterly growth plans of the distributor in alignment with RSM. The ASM also leads the monthly operating cycle and has to manage  monthly claim / ops and damage settlement, with the customer to ensure clean accounting practices and making sure there is no trade spends leakage in system.

Leadership: The person will also be responsible for leading a direct team of 5-7 people in the assigned sales area. The role holder will provide coach, drive performance, drive weekly and monthly meetings so we track and govern monthly operating plans. The sales leader is also directly responsible for team performance and building their capability.

Entrepreneurial Mindset: The role is high on independence and entrepreneurial mindset.  Person, should be highly driven, self-motivated and good in numbers & data.

Experience and skills required:

• MBA/PGDM degree in Sales/ Marketing / Operations. Person with good analytical and communication skills. As the role involves numbers & data centricity, hence ability  to work on excel and comprehend data is a must
• Experience: 3 to 5 years in FMCG only
• Entrepreneurial mindset – Can come up with solution and think business growth first
• Should be target oriented and determined selling skills is required.
• Leader, who can guide the team and also has ability to go in trenches and get work done.
• Go – getter and competitive, one who sees goals as a mechanism to drive performance
• Good communicator- as customer negotiation will be a key to success
• Any experience in Impulse category or highly operating role is a big plus

We are committed to developing and nurturing talent within our Ice Cream company. We are committed to providing ample options for career growth and exploration, allowing our employees to explore roles and opportunities across the new Ice Cream organization. Employees’ career development is a priority for us, and we are dedicated to supporting their growth journey within the new company.

Leadership Behaviours: Should "meet or exceed expectations" on the Standards of Leadership behaviours:

• Purpose & Service: Works from purpose for the good of others.
• Personal Mastery: Always brings their best self.
• Agility: Constantly curious & courageous.
• Business Acumen: Generate value in Channels & Customers.
• Talent Catalyst: Develops & magnifies the power of people.
• Consumer Love: Creates better futures for our consumers every day.
• Passion for High Performance: Inspires the energy needed to win and grow

Are you up for this exciting challenge?

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