Manager, Business Area

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

• The role is responsible for driving strategic growth and expanding adidas's market presence in East Malaysia and Brunei.
• This role focuses on identifying new business opportunities, building partnerships, enhancing market penetration, and ensuring the profitable expansion of the brand's footprint in the region.
• To support and drive the Sales teams in Franchise and Wholesale to achieve profitable and sustainable market growth by providing clear and actionable insights from customer data, on-ground market information, trends, and competitors.
• To enhance the understanding of the business, to drive improved decision-making and productivity.
• Three departments that will fall under the purview of the manager are the Franchise channel, Wholesale channel, and overall East Malaysia and Brunei brand marketing opportunities, execution, and governance.

Key Responsibilities:

Overall:

• Enable sales growth in East Malaysia.
• Identify and evaluate new business opportunities in East Malaysia and Brunei, with a focus on market expansion and strategic partnerships.
• Analyze market trends, and competitive landscape to inform strategy and capitalize on opportunities.
• Aligned with the key stakeholders and implement strategies to increase market share.
• Prepare business cases, including financial forecasts and risk assessments, for new ventures.
• Maintain a monthly review cadence with Franchise, Wholesale, and Brand leads.

Business Channel – Franchise & Wholesale:

• Own and drive the sales targets with the Key Account Managers.
• Conduct regular visit, analyze, identify our brand performance including sales, inventory, visual merchandising, product assortments, competitor performance on all customer point of sales.
• Provide clear information on our brand performance, competitors analysis with integrity data (sales, inventory, competitors, visual merchandising, product assortments, store KPI, etc.
• Analyze past performance data and identify missed opportunities, by providing inputs to Wholesale and Franchise leads.
• Implement and track Strategic Action Plans (STAP) to meet annual business objectives.
• Assist in the development of Key Account Plans and ensure quarterly reviews are properly conducted with utilization of data and insights generated from customer sell through reports and market, competitor insights.
• Build strong relationships with key stakeholders in Wholesale and Franchise to boost sales and in-store execution.

Brand Marketing Channel:

• Negotiate and manage brand partnerships to drive brand growth and business development.
• Collaborate with shopping mall marketing teams to secure in-mall branding opportunities.
• Partner with the brand team to execute brand campaigns and promotional activities with wholesale and franchise partners.
• Grow the trail running and hiking community through grassroots programs and events.

Others:

• Provide regular reports on market dynamics and opportunities to guide decision-making.
• Perform other tasks as may be assigned from time to time.

Key Relationships:

• Sales channel – Retail, Franchise, Wholesale
• Brand
• Finance
• Supply Chain Management

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Able to develop and execute long-term growth strategies aligned with company's goals.
• Strong understanding of local market dynamics, consumer behavior, and competition in East Malaysia and Brunei.
• Proven ability to build strong partnerships and negotiate effectively with stakeholders.
• In-depth knowledge of retail operations, financial management, and market trends to drive sustainable growth.
• Excellent at interpreting data, forecasting trends, and applying insights to business strategies.
• Highly adaptable in fast-paced, changing environments.

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, Marketing, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in business development, sales, or retail management, preferably within the retail or FMCG sector.
• Proven experience in market expansion and managing business operations in a regional capacity, particularly in East Malaysia and Brunei.
• Strong track record of developing partnerships and driving profitable business growth.
• Financial acumen with experience in budgeting, financial modeling, and business case development.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and business development tools.
• The incumbent will be based in Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) and must be willing to travel frequently within Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei.