For increased alignment.
The KitchenAid Australia commercial team has increased by 50% following the re-alignment of national account managers, introduction of field sales representatives and new marketing team dedicated to consumer engagement, retailer websites and product review platforms.
In an exclusive interview with Appliance Retailer, KitchenAid Australia and Asia Pacific general manager, Kay Oswald said this follows the establishment of a direct sales force in late 2017 that has now been further strengthened.
“These organisational changes bring us closer to our retail partners and create better alignment and synergies at a store level. We want to continue to strengthen our heritage in bricks and mortar retail and proactively act on the increased need to engage with consumers online and via social media,” he explained.
As part of these changes, Richard Thom has been promoted from sales director to commercial director to oversee sales, operations and finance. Ganesh Krishnan will now lead the sales team and Rob Austin-Williams has transferred from the KitchenAid US team to lead the field sales team. Furthermore, Andrew Waller has been promoted to country leader New Zealand, allowing for more autonomy in addressing local market needs.
“Our aspiration is to have ANZ’s strongest marketing, sales and operations team in the appliance industry which means we need to create the organisational capabilities and bandwidth to have the right talent in the right roles at the right time,” Oswald said.
“With this new structure, we will be able to provide a much more differentiated approach to our trade partners. It is not going to be a one-size-fits-all approach where different channels in different regions with different needs will all be treated the same but a much more individualised sales experience.
“We will be focusing on offering the right product for the right channels, empowering our newly installed field sales managers to find the right solutions and propositions for our trade partners based on their needs.”