Regional Sales Manager Modern Trade Inland

ABOUT YOU

Are you a highly energized individual with a knack for negotiations and exceptional people skills? Do you possess emotional maturity and a passion for driving growth in a dynamic market? If so, we are looking for someone just like you to join our team. As a goal-oriented and motivated individual, you'll thrive in our fast-paced environment, working on our #1 brand, Lucozade. If you're ready to bring your positive energy and commitment to a growing brand, we want to hear from you!

ABOUT THE ROLE

As the Regional Sales Manager for Modern Trade in South Africa, your primary responsibility will be to further develop and maximize the distribution, net revenue, and gross profit across designated regional retail chains. You will achieve this by increasing market share, executing agreed promotional activities, ensuring multiple points of purchase, providing efficient customer service, and building sustainable relationships. You'll work closely with the General Manager to assess customer opportunities and manage both new and existing retail and petrol forecourt partners to drive product sales and market growth.
Primary Responsibilities:
•    Collaborate with General Manager to identify and assess customer opportunities in each region.
•    Manage retail and petrol forecourt partners to increase product sales and educate them on our product portfolio and strategies.
•    Provide insights and input into the modern trade vision and strategy.
•    Conduct and maintain competitor pricing analysis and movement.
•    Maintain a consistent business review schedule with key regional customers (JBP, MBR, HYR, FYR).
•    Support SBFSA programs with detailed market initiatives and develop local programs to meet regional needs.
•    Provide proposals, quotations, and pricing to partners, ensuring timely input into the commercial planning process.
•    Fulfil yearly volume, net revenue, and GP plans according to set goals and plans.
•    Continuously increase market share at accounts, achieving a competitive advantage over key competitors.
•    Monitor performance and compliance, taking immediate corrective actions as needed, executed in-store.
•    Manage CDA and Trading Term contracts according to company principles and strategy.
•    Effectively manage display placement budgets.
•    Execute seasonal strategies and region-specific promotions, including local events.
•    Ensure the listing of new products and guarantee product distribution and availability in accounts.
•    Place and monitor equipment (racks/displays) and fridge placements in stores.
•    Execute pricing strategies and communicate effectively with customers.
•    Maintain a strong field presence to reinforce account strategy and ensure executional excellence.
•    Follow up on complaints internally and maintain updated customer data.
•    Engage with all key decision-makers during each visit.
•    Manage sales and merchandising partners, ensuring execution excellence and driving secondary display opportunities.
•    Monitor and measure gap closure and business opportunities for revenue generation.

REQUIREMENTS

•    Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.
•    Experience in sales roles, preferably in FMCG organizations.
•    Demonstrable strong business awareness.
•    Excellent negotiation and communication skills.
•    Teamwork and flexibility.
•    Customer-oriented with good problem-solving abilities and accuracy.
•    Ability to make decisions and build excellent relationships at the store level.
•    Ethical conduct and compliance consciousness.
•    Entrepreneurial thinking.
•    Demonstrable use of data to drive decisions.
•    Ability to build relationships at store level and succeed with 3rd party merchandising and sales.
•    Ability to solve customer complaints.
•    Willingness to go the extra mile to ensure our brand has multiple points of interpretation in-store and minimize out-of-stocks.

ABOUT US

At Suntory People are everything. The continuous success and growth of each individual makes Growing for Good possible. At Suntory in South Africa, we are on an exciting journey as Lucozade is poised to dominate the market. As a healthy, growing, and dynamic company, we pride ourselves on having a great informal, caring, and mature culture. Joining us means being part of a team that values innovation, teamwork, and a passion for excellence.
 

COMPETENCES

OUR DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION COMMITMENT

At Suntory, we greatly appreciate the value that diverse knowledge, perspectives, and backgrounds can bring. Our colleagues from a wide range of cultures, lifestyles, and experiences contribute significantly to our collective success.   
We understand that our candidates all have unique career trajectories and experiences, and this can sometimes deter you from applying for a role if you don’t feel that you meet all the criteria. If you believe that you have relevant skills and experience that you feel could benefit us, we would love to know what unique perspectives and experience you can bring to help make us better, together in a company that is committed to Growing for Good and Giving Back to Society.   
Our recruitment, selection and assessment process is based on the skills and competencies of the above role. We are committed to and value diversity, equity and inclusion in our recruitment process and do not discriminate based on gender, race or ethnic background, class, economic status, disability status, sexual orientation, age, political beliefs, marital status or any other protected characteristic. We want to ensure that our interview process is as inclusive as possible. If you require any reasonable accommodation as part of the process, do not hesitate to let your recruiter know who will be happy to help.   
 

NEXT STEPS

Your application will be reviewed by our Talent Acquisition Specialist. You will be notified within 2 weeks if you are invited for a first screening interview.