Sales Manager

Sales Manager

Adidas

PURPOSE & OVERALL RELEVANCE FOR THE ORGANIZATION

Own the commercial relationship and the business results of a portfolio of adidas retail partners in Mexico — franchise operators of mono-brand stores — from buy commitment and order conversion, through sell-in, credit and inventory health, to sell-out, store productivity and network expansion.

The Sales Manager is the partner's single point of contact and the account lead inside the company, coordinating the internal teams — planning and buying, customer service, finance and credit, store development, retail operations and marketing — to deliver the sell-in, sell-out and profitability targets of the portfolio, while protecting brand standards and consumer experience in every store.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• 1. Commercial & Financial Ownership

• Deliver the sales targets of the assigned partner portfolio — sell-in (net sales, margin, trade terms) and sell-out (net sales, comparable-store growth, productivity per square meter) — against the annual plan and the seasonal buy.

• Lead the seasonal buy with the partner — pre-order commitment, order conversion, in-season reorders and assortment push — ensuring consistency with the partner's open-to-buy, inventory coverage and sell-through.

• Manage the partner's financial health with the finance and credit teams: credit limits, payment plans, overdue balances, credit notes and returns — anticipating billing risk and protecting the sell-in plan.

• Own inventory productivity across the partner network: coverage, ageing, markdown and clearance decisions, rebalancing between stores and clean season transitions.

• Build the business case and P&L view behind every commercial decision — openings, relocations, trade-terms adjustments, incentives — and present recommendations and portfolio insight to senior management.

• 2. Retail Performance & Brand Execution

• Drive sell-out through the retail KPI framework (traffic, conversion, units per transaction, average selling price, average transaction value) at partner, format and store level; identify root causes and agree corrective action plans with the partner.

• Increase comparable-store productivity (net sales per square meter) across the portfolio to improve channel profitability and partner viability.

• Assess execution of brand standards in store — operations, visual merchandising, staff capability and in-store activation — and ensure learnings are replicated across the partner's full store portfolio.

• Deploy the brand's retail tools and programs to the partner (training, service model, visual merchandising guidelines, campaign calendar, staff incentives) to lift productivity and consumer experience.

• Assess the partner's retail organization and recommend structure, key staff and capability improvements in line with the brand's policies and procedures.

• 3. Partner Relationship, Governance & Growth

• Act as the single point of contact for the partner's principals and management, bringing accountability, efficiency and simplicity to the relationship.

• Run the account governance rhythm: weekly performance tracking, monthly business reviews and seasonal strategic reviews with agreed KPIs, action plans, owners and deadlines.

• Set objectives, strategies and tactics with the partner and translate them into executable plans within the partner's organization — holding the partner accountable while protecting a long-term, trust-based relationship.

• Lead difficult conversations — credit, inventory responsibility, underperforming stores, closures — with a fact-based approach and timely escalation.

• Co-own the partner's expansion plan — openings, relocations, remodels and closures — with the store development team, ensuring delivery of the committed opening plan and location quality.

• Ensure partner compliance with the contractual agreement, brand standards and trade-terms conditions.

• KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Retail industry capability: Deep understanding of how a retail business works at network level: store economics and retail P&L, KPI framework (traffic, conversion, units per transaction, average selling price, average transaction value, sales per square meter), inventory and open-to-buy management, seasonality and product life cycle, assortment, visual merchandising and store operations.

• Commercial acumen: Connects sell-in and sell-out into one business logic; commands margin, trade terms, pricing and markdown, credit and collections, order and buy management; builds and defends business cases with numbers; negotiates with a win-win, long-term mindset.

• Partner / customer relationship management (B2B or B2C): Proven experience owning relationships with external business partners or customers — key accounts, distributors, wholesale customers, franchisees — or leading regional retail operations in front of store owners and operators. Influences senior counterparts without hierarchical authority, manages conflict and holds partners accountable while sustaining trust.

• Strong analytical capability: Owns the numbers behind every commercial decision — P&L, sell-in / sell-out bridge, inventory coverage, credit exposure, business cases — and turns data into executive decisions, leveraging advanced Excel, Power BI and AI tools.

• Executive communication and presentation skills; comfortable in front of partner principals and senior management.

• Cross-functional leadership: aligns planning, customer service, finance, store development, retail operations and marketing around the partner plan.

• Results-driven, resilient and hands-on; operates with autonomy under commercial pressure. Consumer and brand orientation.

• REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE / MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, Economics, Engineering or related field; MBA is a plus.

• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in the retail or fashion industry (sporting goods, apparel, footwear, fashion retail or department stores), including at least 3 years accountable for commercial or sales results in one or more of the following: key account / wholesale sales management; regional or district retail management; retail buying, planning or trading with commercial partner exposure.

• Track record of accountability for sales, margin and KPI targets, with P&L exposure.

• Experience managing external partners or customers at owner / general-manager level (B2B), or leading store networks (B2C).

• Experience in franchise or mono-brand partner models is a plus.

• Advanced Excel and AI tools capability (data analysis, automation and productivity);

• Power BI desirable.

• English: advanced (business level).

• At adidas, we strongly believe that embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into our culture and talent processes gives our employees a sense of belonging and our brand a real competitive advantage.

• Culture Starts With People, It Starts With You -

• By recruiting talent and developing our people to reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities, we foster a culture of inclusion that engages our employees and authentically connects our brand with our consumers.