Commercial Director, Iberia, COMET

Commercial Director Iberia for leading distributor of bicycles and components

Fulfil great commercial potential

COMET is one of the largest and most complete distributor for bicycles including components and accessories in Spain and Portugal with a portfolio of more than 200 brands, 25,000 references, and giving service to up to 1,500 clients. It is strategically located at the border between Spain and France. COMET is part of Accell Group that employs approximately 3,700 people across 15 countries. Accell Group’s bikes and related products are sold to dealers and consumers in more than 80 countries. In 2022, the company sold around 845 thousand bicycles and recorded a turnover of € 1.4 billion.

Lead and develop Iberia commercial activities

The bicycle market is a dynamic and exciting industry with all future market trends showing that it will continue to grow and develop in the coming years. New players are entering the market, online channels become increasingly important, customers expect fast and effective services, and brands, distributors and retailers all seek to develop closer and more meaningful relationships with the consumer.

Comet has a rich heritage in the industry developing from a small bicycle shop more than one hundred years ago to the leading bicycle parts and accessories distributor it is today. Part of Accell Bike Parts, Comet plays a vital role in the development of this leading pan-European distribution business.

Comet is a multimillion revenue business and has more than a hundred employees where a large number are employed with Sales, aftersales and marketing and the rest in the warehouse. Finance, HR, SC & Procurement is organized in a matrix structure reporting to HQ based in the Netherlands. Yours and the commercial team’s responsibilities counts:

• Create and implement the strategic sales plan for multi-national key accounts. This will include market share growth, channel strategy development, brand strategy and service level improvements.
• As a strategist and a leader, you will steer Comet in the most profitable and sustainable direction. You will work with your team to provide a clear vision, mission and long-term goals for the business.
• Full responsibility for the creation and delivery of the Comet financial budget including revenue, margin, inventory, TWC, CP and EBIT performance metrics.
• Play a positive and active role in Accell Bike Parts projects such as the Virtual Warehouse, Accentry B2B E-commerce Development, Pan-European Key Account Management, own brand portfolio growth and omni-channel business development projects.
• Develop a strong network at the most senior level of the Iberia customer base including key E-commerce players, buying groups and IBD changes. Nurture these relationships to support the sales strategy and to ensure a close connection to the market place is maintained at all times.
• Create and build a strong collaboration with the Accell Group Bicycle division for Iberia. This will include seeking out the synergies available from closer alignment, agreeing new ways of working with processes and systems that deliver the commercial upsides from a more aligned way of working.

The role is based at Urnieta right at the border between Spain and France. You report to the Accell Group CCO based in Germany.

Senior Sales leadership profile with experience from branded goods

You probably have strong senior Sales leadership experience in effectively running and developing a fast-paced distribution business possibly to both B2B and D2C channels. Your experience derives ideally from branded high involvement goods like sports, luxury, fashion, jewelry, beauty, high end electronics, automotive or similar. Bike and/ or retail knowledge would be excellent but is not obligated. You probably have an academic degree (sales, marketing, business) or another commercial background. You possess good understanding of the omni-channel “customer journey” including digital channels with experience in moving business through a journey from B2B to omni-channel.

Further we are looking you who:

• Has a positive and success focused leadership style with the ability to bring confidence to the Comet team and define clear roles and responsibilities.
• Has a strong track record of effective change management with the capability to bring all stakeholders – internal and external – along on the change journey required at Comet.
• Speaks Spanish and English.
• High affinity for bicycles and cycling is a plus.
• Proven successful experience in working in an international setting

ABOUT ACCELL GROUP AND WHAT WE DO

We believe that cycling moves the world forward. We design simple and smart solutions in order to create a fantastic cycling experience for everyone who uses our bikes. Accell Group makes bicycles, bicycle parts and accessories. We are the European market leader in e-bikes and second largest in bicycle parts and accessories. With numerous leading European bicycle brands under one roof. These brands were built by pioneers for whom the best was not good enough. We still embody the entrepreneurial spirit of those family businesses to this day. We keep pushing ourselves to create high-quality, high performance, cutting-edge products driven by the continuous exchange of know-how and craftsmanship.

Well-known bicycle brands in our portfolio include Haibike, Winora, Ghost, Batavus, Koga, Lapierre, Raleigh, Sparta, Babboe and Carqon. XLC is our brand for bicycle parts and accessories. Accell Group employs approximately 3,700 people across 15 countries.