Head of Wholesale, Central Europe - #2710966

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Are you an experienced wholesale leader who combines strategic thinking with a passion for developing people and partnerships?

We are looking for a Head of Wholesale, Central, to lead and develop ECCO’s wholesale business across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In this key leadership role, you set strategic direction for the region, strengthen our market position and develop and strengthen strategic customer partnerships, personally taking ownership of some of the region's largest key accounts, and lead your cross market team to realize the full potential of the Central region.

You will report to the VP Sales Director North/West and be part of the ECCO North/West Division management team.

Your Responsibilities

Lead and develop the team

• Provide clear direction, priorities, and a structured approach to execution.
• Lead and mentor a large wholesale team operating across different markets.
• Set clear sales targets and coach the team to achieve strong results.
• Balance time spent personally managing key accounts with strong, consistent leadership of the team
• Create a culture built on trust, respect, collaboration, performance, and professional growth.
  
  

Shape The Wholesale Strategy

• Develop and implement the wholesale strategy for the Central region.
• Identify new commercial opportunities that support sustainable revenue growth.
• Use market trends and customer insights to strengthen the regional business.
• Align wholesale activities with product launches and global marketing initiatives.
• Drive account segmentation and cross-functional collaboration with marketing and key stakeholders to enable a coordinated and holistic market approach.
  
  

Build strong partnerships

• Personally act as key account manager for a number of the region's largest and most strategic accounts, complementing rather than replacing the team's account ownership.
• Develop trusted, long-term relationships with key wholesale partners and stakeholders.
• Build strategic joint business plans with key accounts, identifying mutual growth opportunities and clear priorities.
• Represent ECCO in commercial negotiations and the management of strategically important contracts.
• Support partners through strategic dialogue, product training, and relevant marketing materials.
  
  

Drive sales performance

• Take ownership of the regional sales budget, forecasting, and reporting.
• Use market, product, and partner data to inform commercial priorities and future strategies.
• Drive disciplined seasonal planning and performance review across markets and key accounts.
• Work closely with relevant stakeholders to support effective order fulfilment and inventory management.
  
  

Build capability at point of sale

• Ensure your key account managers spend time in stores training wholesale partner staff in sales technique, product knowledge and conversion.
• Drive structured, recurring training programs that build lasting selling capability among partner store personnel, not just one off sessions.
• Use conversion rate data to identify where training will have the biggest commercial impact and prioritize accordingly.
• Make front line training a visible, expected part of the key account manager role, not an optional extra alongside account management.
• Align with ECCO’s retailer trainer team on best practices and training material
  
  

Strengthen market and channel development

• Continuously assess the wholesale landscape and identify how ECCO should evolve its distribution and partner portfolio across the Central region.
• Identify opportunities to expand, consolidate or reposition distribution to strengthen both commercial performance and the ECCO brand.
• Bring an outside-in perspective into the organization by translating market developments into actionable commercial recommendations.
  
  

Protect the brand

• Ensure that ECCO’s brand standards are consistently represented across wholesale activities.
• Support compliance with relevant regulations across the region.
  
  

Collaborate across the business

• Partner closely with Marketing, Retail, Ecommerce, and Merchandising to align priorities and increase commercial impact.
• Provide customer and market insights to support future product development.
• Work with Customer Service and Supply Chain to support smooth and efficient delivery to wholesale partners.
• Share, collect and leverage good practice from your peers in the other European regions.
• Be a proactive and valuable member of the North/West leadership team
  
  

What You Bring

We are looking for an experienced and inspiring leader who can combine strategic direction with strong commercial execution.

Ideally, You Bring

• An execution mindset, with proven experience leading significant wholesale operations within fashion, footwear, lifestyle or a comparable industry, combined with a strategic and commercial approach and a strong understanding of the markets and their distribution networks.
• Strong leadership skills, providing clear direction, developing teams and navigating team dynamics constructively across countries and cultures.
• Strong negotiation and communication skills, with experience managing senior level partnerships and strategically important accounts.
• Experience building capability among partners, including hands on sales and conversion training of front line store staff.
• Ability to interpret sales data and market trends and translate insights into clear commercial actions.
• A relevant academic background, preferably at master's degree level.
• Fluency in English and German languages.
  
  

What We Offer

You will join a global brand with a proud heritage of craftsmanship and quality. Based in our Hamburg office, you will work in an informal and international environment, with the scale and opportunities of a global organization that values innovation and supports a healthy work-life balance.

Ready to take the next step?

If you are motivated by leading people, building strong partnerships, and developing wholesale business across one of Europe’s key regions, we would be pleased to hear from you.