Sales Manager Consumer Retail Italy

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Sales Manager Consumer Retail Italy

POSITION SNAPSHOT

Type of work: Hybrid

Type of contract: Open-ended/permanent

Full/Part Time: Full time

Location: Vimercate(MB), IT

ABOUT US

Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM), headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and Bridgestone Europe, Middle East and Africa (BSEMEA), headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, operate collectively as a “Bridgestone West” strategic region. This region services the strategic business needs of teams across the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa. BSAM and BSEMEA are subsidiaries of Bridgestone Corporation, globally headquartered in Japan. Bridgestone and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand products and solutions to address the needs of a broad range of customers and industries.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Role Purpose

The Sales Manager Consumer Retail Italy is responsible for driving profitable growth and market share within the Retail channel across Italy, managing both direct and indirect customers. The role requires strong commercial leadership, strategic thinking, and the ability to lead and develop a high-performing sales team while ensuring excellent execution of the company strategy in the market.

The successful candidate will play a key role in strengthening customer relationships, developing tactical go-to-market initiatives, maximizing the value proposition mix, and providing valuable market and competitive insights to support business decisions.

Key Responsibilities

Sales & Business Development

• Achieve and exceed sales targets and profitability objectives within the Italian Retail channel.
• Develop and execute effective sales strategies aligned with company objectives and market opportunities.
• Grow the customer base while maximizing share and profitability on existing accounts through a MIX value proposition approach.
• Propose, develop, and deliver tactical and Go-To-Market offers to support sustainable growth.
• Prepare and provide reliable sales forecasts and business plans.
• Set and negotiate annual and quarterly rebate agreements with customers within company guidelines and approved frameworks.
• Secure customer compliance with agreed payment deadlines and collaborate closely with Credit Department on any information impacting customer creditworthiness.
• Ensure effective implementation and execution of company strategy in the market.
• Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships with direct and indirect customers, key accounts, distributors, and retail partners.
• Actively support all company functions in customer interactions when required.
• Work closely with Trade Marketing to deliver added value initiatives for Key Accounts in line with market requirements and approved budgets.
• Monitor market trends, customer needs, and competitor activities, providing timely and accurate insights to management in compliance with company policies.
• Gather and communicate valuable market intelligence to steer strategic business decisions.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Develop strong working relationships with internal stakeholders including Legal, LSCM, Finance, Marketing, HR, Credit, and Customer Service functions.
• Influence and collaborate effectively with supporting functions to drive business success and operational excellence.
• Ensure all relevant information is communicated professionally and effectively across the organization.
• Liaise closely with all company departments to guarantee alignment and seamless business execution.
• Lead, inspire, motivate, and develop the sales team to achieve ambitious business objectives.
• Manage direct reports to ensure successful delivery across key accounts and areas of responsibility.
• Foster a high-performance culture focused on accountability, collaboration, engagement, and continuous improvement.
• Coach and support team members to maximize their strengths and develop areas for improvement.
• Collaborate with HR to ensure appropriate training, talent development, succession planning, and reward & recognition initiatives are implemented.
• Coordinate effectively across diverse teams and disciplines.

Qualifications & Experience

• Ideally a minimum of 5 years of experience within the tyre sales industry or a comparable industry with transferable commercial experience.
• Proven experience in sales team management and leadership.
• Strong understanding of retail sales channels, distribution networks, and key account management.
• Experience in budgeting, forecasting, and commercial planning.
• Excellent IT skills, particularly in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Fluent in Italian and English.

Leadership & Business Skills

• Strong leadership and people management capabilities.
• Excellent negotiation, influencing, and presentation skills.
• Strong commercial acumen and entrepreneurial mindset.
• Strategic and consumer-focused approach.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and prioritize workload.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Excellent organizational and time management abilities.

Interpersonal Skills

• Excellent communication skills at all organizational levels.
• Strong empathy and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Open, direct, transparent, and honest communication style.
• Team player with a flexible and collaborative mindset.
• Strong interpersonal skills and customer orientation.
• Respectful, trustworthy, and highly ethical.

Personal Attributes

• Results-oriented and proactive.
• Confidential and reliable.
• Adaptable and resilient.
• High level of integrity and professionalism.

The salary range is based on gender-neutral criteria: applicable CCNL requirements, responsibilities, working conditions and market benchmarks for the role and location. Final compensation will be determined based on gender-neutral criteria: experience, skills, and internal equity.

WHAT WE OFFER

At Bridgestone, what really matter is to foster co-creation opportunities and empowering you to be creative and curious to make mobility safer, more efficient, and more sustainable for future generations. Whatever role you fill, when you represent Bridgestone, you are a valued teammate, and part of our larger mission to “Serve Society with Superior Quality”, for that, we offer you more than just a competitive payment; we will provide you:

• A supportive and engaging onboarding experience to ensure a smooth transition into our team.
• The opportunity to develop and grow, through training and regular mentorship.
• Corporate Social Responsibility activities.
• A truly global, dynamic and challenging work environment.
• Agility and work/life effectiveness and your long-term well-being.
• A diverse and inclusive team.

We are committed to create an even more inclusive culture that advances equity, embraces individuality, and helps our increasingly diverse teammates, customers, and communities thrive, by providing equal opportunities in employment. This means that all job applicants and members of staff will receive equal treatment and that we will not discriminate on grounds of gender, marital status, race, ethnicity, color, nationality, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, religion or age.