Hitendra Bhandari

Responsible to establish the strategic and tactical plans to improve the sales & operation efficiency for GCC & Levant countries.

Designing policies & standardizing procedures to reduce overheads and enhance revenue & profit margins.

Developing a 5-year regional sales & marketing plan for each product category with a 20% projected annual growth. Developing the pricing & brand strategies and new accounts across all the trade channels to achieve the growth.

Spearheading the sourcing & recruitment of the sales & operational team, setting up the infrastructure to improve service level.

Reporting to the VP Sales & Marketing-Middle East, managed & supported distributors with financial plans, trade marketing initiatives, brand promotional plans, competitor analysis, logistic & training to increase operational efficiency and market share. Business volume - USD 7.8 Million.
Developed & implemented distributor wise yearly sales plans for all brands based on the market demand and projected growth. Established P&L to ensure that the financial objectives of gross margin, ROI and budget targets are met as per the corporate guidelines.
Created, organized and imparted the sales, marketing and product knowledge training to distributor’s management and field sales team. Equipped the distributors with up to date sales & marketing support tools, interactive tutorials & videos, POS materials and product brochures.
Participated in product seminars and trade shows in distributor’s territory and accordingly developed the sales promotion program, marketing and brand strategy to meet the consumer demand in different trade channels.
Key Accomplishments:

• Developed new trade channels and customers that enabled the distributor to deplete the stock of non-moving inventory of USD 650K in Jordan.
• Planned and developed new product promotional offer for distributor and key accounts in Lebanon, resulted in 35% sales growth.
• Recruited a new distributor for our food service/HORECA division in Jordan.
• Working along with marketing, finance and production team developed the SKU which has been contracted with exclusive distributor for incremental sales of USD 500K/year.
• Mentored and trained one of the sales executive to enable him grow and become the successor for the managerial position in UAE region.

Successfully managed the full sales operation of RAK Glass brand in UAE market and lead the local sales team to increase sales, brand visibility, profitability in all trade channels (modern trade, traditional stores and wholesale customers). Business volume - AED 12.5 Million.
Effectively handled a highly capable team of 3 sales executives, 3 merchandisers and 19 other direct & indirect reporting members from sales co-ordination, warehousing and distribution department. Established qualitative & quantitative sales targets for sales executives and provided necessary support, motivation and training to them to ensure that each team member could achieve their targets.
Strongly negotiated with the key accounts/power retailers on rebate structure, pricing, sales allowance, product mix & display area visibility and worked along with them to establish jointly aligned sales forecast.
Planned & conducted special sales promotion & trade marketing programs in coordination with the power retailers to exceed the forecasted monthly/yearly sales targets and conveyed these programs to planning, production and logistic dept. to ensure timely delivery.
Actively participated in new product development starting from conceptualization and production feasibility to positioning, pricing, trade channel communication, distribution, merchandising and display implementation.
Monitored competitor activities on products, pricing & promotion and compiled information on consumer’s needs and buying patterns to maximize sales opportunities in a professional, timely and cost effective manner.
Performed market research, competitor analysis and sales & demand forecasting to meet the changing needs and requirements of consumers.
Key Accomplishments:

• UAE sales grew by 90%, reaching AED 12.5 Million from annual sales of AED 6.5 Million.
• Accredited for enhancing the brand visibility from average 2 product designs to 5 designs in major hypermarkets/outlets (With some increasing to 10).
• Active negotiation with the power retailers resulted in annual saving of AED 100k each year.
• Launched 6 new designs and 2 new product lines in UAE market with all the major retailers like Carrefour, LULU and Co-operative Societies etc.
• Recruited, trained and supported the merchandisers to advance them as sales executives.

Responsible to achieve sales target by generating regular sales from modern trade (hypermarkets/supermarkets), traditional stores and wholesale customers in Abu Dhabi & Al-Ain Region. Business Volume - AED 1.75Million
Ensured merchandising standards are met and company's full ranges of articles are available and prominently visible and properly displayed in the key outlets.
Accountable for order follow up, payment collection and co-ordination with the delivery department for on time order delivery.
Key Accomplishments:

• The annual sales in AUH & Al Ain region increased by 110%, reaching AED 1.75 Million from AED 800K.
• Revitalized the business relationship with EMKE group, business grew from AED 250K to AED 650 K in 2 years.
• The customer base increased by 93%, from 42 to 81.
• Demonstrated excellence by gaining the stretch target bonus up to 35% gross annual salary by exceeding the stretch sales targets continuously for 2 years.

Efficiently handled the business operation of 1 branch with a business volume of SAR 2.5 Million.
Additional responsibilities included outdoor sales, inventory control and new business development.

Key Accomplishments:
• Increased the average monthly branch sales by 18%, resulting in annual revenue exceeding to SAR 2.5 million and the branch was recognized as the best performing branch.
• Secured over SAR 325K in overdue credit accounts.
• Got the company registered as vendor/supplier with some of the biggest organization like Saudi ARAMCO, SABIC, Amiantit Fiber glass, Saudi Transformer etc. resulting annual business more than SAR 300K.

Reporting to the GM-Sales and Marketing, handled the responsibility to launch & market Millennium brand PC for price sensitive mass market segment.
Additional responsibilities included market research, participation in trade fares and exhibition, media planning, selection and communication.

Key Accomplishments:
• The brand got successfully launched in Delhi and N. C. R region and generated average revenue of INR3.5 million/month.
• Planned and organized new products launching seminars and promotional activities for the customers and distributors.

Reporting to the Managing Director of the company, handled the responsibility to manage a sales team and generating a business volume of INR 5 Million/year.
Additional responsibilities included cold calling, lead generation, sales presentation, quotation, negotiation and sales closing.

Key Accomplishments:
• Achieved sales person of the month award for November 99 & December 99 and achieved the position of Branch Manager within 6 months of employment.
• The team received the appreciation award for achieving highest sales in the month of September 2000.
• Collaborated with architects & consultants to generate leads & increase sales.