Retail Lead - Marketing & GTM
Gionee India
Total years of experience :18 years, 8 Months
- Project Head to launch pilot venture of Shop Front Activation coined as Street Fight Army (SFA). In which prime focus was to have engagement & activation at the retail shop front. Worked on strategy, process note, implementation project where 2500 promoters were hired to implement the project in two months.
- Responsible for driving the retail marketing and Engagement plan across the region.
- Responsible for effectively utilizing the budget for BTL marketing and for the preparation and pay out of incentives for field marketing executives (Proposal of incentives and SOP for the Marketing activities)
- Manage ATL/BTL activities for the region
- Strategic guide for Regional Retail Marketing managers and Distributor marketing team to provide inputs for the execution of Retail visibility & engagements across the region
- Responsible for GTM strategy for the upcoming mobile phone models
- Nationwide launch of S6s
- Worked extensively with forecasting, product and strategy team for stock planning and placement
- Closely interacting with Sales Director to push sales and monitor secondary & tertiary movement
- Competition Mapping & benchmarking
- Worked to reduce complaints and TAT for the respective series, any updates to be release via OTA to resolve the recurring complaints.
Sales & Business Development
o In charge of sales/service operations for the UAE market promoting a complete range of cleaning products namely Commercial cleaning & floor care (3M, USA), Air Fragrance Solutions(Spring Air, Greece), Dispensers (Losdi, Spain), Janitorial Products (TTS & IPC, Italy), Cleaning Machines (Fiorentini, Italy), Industrial, Safety & Entrance matting (Coba, UK & 3M, USA)
o Generating new business opportunities and maintaining relationships with Key Accounts
Alliances & Product Launch
o Initiated new product alliances with Coba Europe (UK) - for entrance & industrial matting, IPC (Italy) - for Janitorial products, Fiorentini (Italy) - for cleaning machines
Marketing Strategy & Communication
o Initiated social (linkedin, FB, SEO) & offline media (Clean ME) to increase visibility of the brand
o Successfully planned and organised Aroma's first exhibition @ FM Expo 2015, WTC (Dubai)
o Marketing: Procurement and design/layout for give-aways, brochures, promotion deals
Analysis & Market Research: Analyze the customers and competitors strategy to gain insight and strategize on the company’s pricing, positioning and promotions.
Training & Development: Conducting regular trainings for key clients and sales teams on new product launches, technologies and sales techniques
Product Mix, Pricing, Placement
o Developing business through new channels of distribution, securing distribution agreements and providing marketing support
o Changed product mix from typically vacuums to larger machines (e.g. ride-on scrubbers)
Achievements & Initiatives:
- Managed and groomed the team of 8 sales people across UAE to increase sales by 67% over last year
- Over achievement of 3M sales targets achieving rebates and becoming their largest distributor
Brand Strategy, New Product Development & Research for Appliances
o Conceptualizing overall brand strategy utilizing consumer, competition and sales research
o End to end campaign planning & execution for the appliances category. New Product launch communication plan & Go-to market strategy, consumer research and GANTT charts for tracking
o Develop competitor brand profile based on pricing, brand positioning, merchandising, customer actions
o Market segmentation, positioning and customer profiling
o Head of the Rebranding Project to implement new USHA logo across verticals & various channels.
➢ Marketing Communication, Advertising & Activation
o Work with the product heads & media buying agency (IMX/ZO) to prepare the media plan
o Work with the creative (O&M, McCann, Ulka) & media agencies to launch mass all India Media campaigns (ATL & BTL) with a budget of 20 Cr
o On ground consumer engagements (exhibitions, kiosks, dealer meets, etc) across dealer counters and retail touch points (Big Bazaar, More, Bharti Walmart, Spencers, Carrefour, Tesco etc)
o Conceptualisation & execution of Marketing collaterals for all product categories - POS, Packaging, etc
o Roll out of the Rural Activation - Video on Wheels (VOW) campaign across 13 states & 16000 villages
o Project leader to launch the premium hobs & hoods range's communication strategy in the country
o Sports sponsorships campaign - Jacques Kallis (brand ambassador) events organisation during IPL, supporting Golf tournaments across the country
➢ Digital Marketing & Company Website
o Part of the core group responsible for complete makeover of Company Website
o Planning & executing the digital marketing campaign via agency
➢ Prepared & took Training sessions / workshops on marketing & advertising for the USHA sales team
Achievements & Initiatives
• Successful implementation of the USHA Rebranding project across verticals and various channels
Alliances & Business Development (Offline & Online)
Developed an alternative revenue stream via strategic partnerships with major print publications across the country. Maintain the P&L, profit maximisation via revenue and margin mix optimisation in product selection
Digital, Print, TV, Radio alliances - Barter of Airtime & revenue share model with other channels & media groups.
Brand Strategy, Research & Campaign Planning and Execution
o Bringing retail concepts alive on TV. Worked on developing a brand architecture for new product launch/show concepts, monthly sales promotion & incentive campaigns etc based on past learnings and market feedback
o Pre & Post campaign evaluations for thresholds and sales & margin targets
o Prepared demand forecasting and allocation of sales media/channel wise with the product team
o Budget, plan, execute and monitor the marketing activity calendar
o Tracking & analyzing ROI on ad campaigns & strategies of competitive brands
o Conduct CSAT surveys and customer profiling to identify media habits and purchasing behaviour
o Category Insights: Conduct DIs and FGDs on different categories and propose category marketing strategy
o Inventory management as per the sales plan
o Annual business planning
o Develop and implement PR strategies - Position the Brand as the pioneer in virtual retail in India
o Complete responsibility for the brand print communications via creative agencies for - All India newspaper ads, Product Catalogues, Packaging, Merchandise & other Marketing collaterals
o Implement CSR and Social Media Marketing(SMM) activities on the internet like Facebook, You Tube etc
BTL Activities - Worked with various event agencies to plan & launch brand kiosks in malls across the NCR
o Budget handling & business plan for the promotions
o Responsible for Mobile marketing(SMS campaigns), Coupon Schemes - Value Back Offer, Catalogues, etc
o Organize monthly customer clubs to get feedback & generate word of mouth
Alliances & Business Development
o Launched the Elvy-ICICI Xpress Rewards Catalogue
o Launched the Jet Airways - Elvy (JetMall) in-flight shopping catalogue
o Exclusive brand promotions with Olive Bar & Kitchen, Mastercard, Citibank, Golf Club members, etc
o Inclusion of elvy products in the American Express Membership Rewards for their Platinum database
o Started an alternative revenue stream through corporate selling to the hospitality industry. Clients included Oberoi Amarvilas, Taj Rambagh, Claridges, Imperial, etc
o Formulating long / short term marketing plans to enhance sales & marketing operations thereby achieving increased sales growth across verticals & mediums. Conducting competitor analysis & market trends research
➢ PR, Marketing Communications & Advertising
o Coordination with the agency for press conferences, product releases, profiling, interviews, press releases etc
o Preparation of the Quarterly PR plan & Media Activity calendar.
o Negotiations with various publications like Elle Decor, Asia Spa etc to initiate & execute niche campaigns.
➢ Retail Outlets
o Identification of potential new store locations across the country. Launched 3 retail stores in the NCR
o Promotion strategy & monitoring sales targets for each store
➢ Online Initiatives & Digital Marketing
o Responsible for the SEO/SMM strategies for the website and implementation of the customised ERP
➢ BTL Activities
o Organised the 'Elvy Shopping Carnival' - an annual event to launch new collections & target buyers
o Participation in various exhibitions like Bridal Asia, Vivaha, etc across the country
o Conducted workshop sessions for RWAs & expat clubs, Golf Club members, etc
o Tied-up with bookshops across NCR for selling the elvy catalogue - Bahri Sons (Khan Mkt.), Crosswords (Pacific Mall, Gurgaon), Om Book Shops, Galgotia & Sons (CP & Noida)
Feb '05 - Jan '06 Selfridges & Co, Birmingham, UK Senior Associate (Management Trainee)
A leading retail chain in UK, it offers an extensive range of fashion and home merchandise along with cafes & bars.
➢ Conceptualised and launched innovative schemes & product ideas to increase sales & footfalls
➢ Conducted Market Research & studies for Consumer Trends to come up with specific customer promotions
2003 - 2005 Masters in Management & Marketing from Birmingham City University, UK (Regular, Fulltime)
1999 - 2002 Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), University of Delhi (Regular, Fulltime)
1998 - 1999 A.I.S.S.C.E in Commerce (C.B.S.E), Don Bosco School, Delhi
