Director Wholesale & Franchise

About the Brand

ABOUT THE BRAND

At Karl Lagerfeld, we are driven by Karl’s mantra: “Embrace the present and invent the future.”

Always contemporary and forward-looking, the House of KARL LAGERFELD shares the creative vision and design aesthetic of its iconic founder, Karl Lagerfeld.

We are the only fashion house that carries Karl’s name on its door and we strive to live up to this responsibility in everything we do, every day, with the utmost joy and passion.

Our headquarters in Paris and in Amsterdam are home to a highly diverse and driven team of KARL family members that hail from over 50 countries. Together, we aim to create meaningful stories and product concepts that connect to Karl’s world and iconic attributes.

Women’s & Men's ready-to-wear, bags, small leather goods, swimwear and underwear are managed directly from our Amsterdam headquarters, while other categories, including footwear, fragrances, eyewear and more, are developed with best-in-class licensing partners.

We connect with our consumers on multiple levels, ensuring that our online and offline approach goes hand in hand. We thrive to maximize consumer engagement via more than 200 KL stores worldwide, our premium wholesale partners, and our strong digital footprint, spearheaded by our KARL.COM flagship store, which reaches 96 countries. Our digital channels currently represent more than 30% of our overall full-price business.

We are a dynamic, fast-growing and inclusive company built on professionalism and strong values. At KARL LAGERFELD we’re committed to working toward the highest standards of sustainability and integrity across all areas of our business. In 2019, KARL LAGERFELD joined as a founding member of the Fashion Pact, a global sustainability initiative seeking to transform the fashion industry through objectives in three areas: climate, biodiversity and ocean protection.

The Role

THE ROLE

The Director Wholesale & Franchise, reporting to the SVP Sales, will lead the sales strategy across Distributors, Agents, Department Stores and Franchise Partners, with the vision to grow the business across categories to its fullest potential, and manage the marketplace whilst maintaining an elevated brand positioning. She / He will contribute to the development of the Wholesale and Franchise business by continuously growing the existing partners and scouting new partners with the goal of maximizing Karl’s footprint; that will be done in collaboration with the broader Sales department as well as the Retail team for a holistic marketplace management. She/He will be responsible for planning, directing and monitoring the activities of the relevant partners to hit the sales budgets and relevant KPI’s. She/He will closely collaborate and orchestrate with key linkage groups (e.g Merchandising, Marketing, Logistics, Store Development, Visual Merchandising, Finance, Operations) to deliver flawless business management and partner support across functions in the organization.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead a talented, multi-site team of Wholesale, Department Stores and Franchise Managers and Specialists.
• Plan and budget the business on a seasonal basis, aligned to the corresponding multi-year Business Plans;
• Oversee contract negotiation and partnership evolution in close alignment with Management;
• Deliver on budgets, growing the business as per company guidance;
• Analyze current business / points of sale performance and KPIs, execute appropriate action plans and define future business opportunities;
• Prospect new franchise partners and direct negotiations on Terms & Conditions;
• Pro-actively identify improvement / synergic areas and kick-start action plans accordingly;
• Lead and orchestrate the relationships with different internal departments to grant an outstanding service level across the different functions in the organization.

MAIN PARTNERS

• Merchandising
• Marketing
• Store Development
• Visual Merchandising
• Operations
• Finance

THE PROFILE

• Bachelor degree;
• 7-10 years' experience in Wholesale and Franchise management;
• Strategic mindset and a proven track record to develop businesses in global environment and a cross-functional organization;
• Proven business strategy / planning skills whilst still having hands-on capabilities;
• High affinity with Fashion with extensive knowledge of the distribution, department stores and franchise landscape, and a strong network in the industry;
• Strong partnership and stakeholder management; excellent communication skills;
• Strong organization, analytical and problem solving skills;
• Ability to work within a dynamic and fast-growing environment
• Naturally curious; Innovative attitude; Can do mentality;
• International work scope, availability to travel on a regular basis;
• Fluent in spoken and written English is a must; other languages a plus.

Why #TEAMKARL?

• Learning and development courses/training
• Opportunity to make an impact
• Remote working arrangements
• Relocation allowance
• Bonus holidays
• Working in the heart of Amsterdam
• Brand discounts
• And exclusive sample sales only for #TEAMKARL

JOIN #TEAMKARL

The collective vision of KARL LAGERFELD is to be the most connected global designer brand, inspiring consumers through luxury collections and immersing them in the World of KARL. If you are interested in joining #TEAMKARL, we invite you to submit your application today.

At #TEAMKARL, everyone can give their opinion, grow in their career, and be part of a genuinely caring and inclusive team. We welcome people from all backgrounds, with different perspectives, ideas, and experiences to work with us.