“Vice President, Sales – Wal*Mart”
(Bentonville, AR)
Company Overview
Fruit of the Loom, Inc. is a leading global company specializing in the design, manufacture,
and Marketing of a number of iconic family apparel, athletic apparel, and sporting
equipment brands including Vanity Fair®, Fruit of the Loom®, Spalding®, Russell
Athletic® among others. The Company’s family of brands is devoted to enriching every day
through comfort, performance and fun. Other major national and international brands
include JERZEES®, Bike®, AAI®, Sherrin®, BVD®, Underoos®, Lofteez®, Illusion®,
Bestform®, Lily of France®, Lou®, Curvation®, Vassarette®.
Fruit of the Loom is dedicated to the social and environmental responsibility in the
communities they serve around the world. The company maintains an appropriate balance
of internal manufacturing and responsible sourcing of their products in a legal, ethical and
responsible manner. Fruit of the Loom, Inc. is driven by market demands, innovation, and a
strategy clearly focused on meeting consumers’ needs. The Fruit of the Loom brand
originated in 1851, and today the company is an independent, wholly-owned subsidiary of
Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. Corporate offices are headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
About Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including
Property and Casualty Insurance and Reinsurance, Utilities and Energy, Freight Rail
Transportation, Finance, Manufacturing, Retailing and Services. The company wholly owns
GEICO, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Helzberg Diamonds and NetJets, owns half of Heinz
and has significant minority holdings in American Express, M&T Bank, Bank of America,
Procter & Gamble, and IBM. Common stock of the company is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange, trading symbols BRK.A (NYSE) and BRK.B (NYSE). Berkshire Hathaway has a
current market cap of $263 Billion, and its portfolio companies employ more than 288,000
around the world. Berkshire Hathaway was founded in 1889, and its world headquarters are
located in Omaha, Nebraska, where CEO Warren Buffet lives today.
Position Overview
The new “VP, Sales” will have Customer Business Development responsibility for
virtually the entire portfolio of FOTL apparel brands sold through Wal*Mart.
Specifically, this “VP, Sales” will be responsible for driving the top line growth of FOTL
Underwear (Men’s, Boy’s, Women’s, Girl’s) and Casual Wear, and Vassarette/Curvation
intimate apparel, across all Wal*Mart’s store formats. The “VP, Sales” is expected to be a
strong, practical, functional leader who will apply that leadership to improve FOTL brands’
standing with Wal*Mart and to improve the rate of FOTL brand development at Wal*Mart. In
addition, the “VP, Sales” will be a key internal company leader who will help shape the
thinking on future brand innovations and Wal*Mart programs that will drive incremental
FOTL business with this important customer.
© 2014 Wiser Partners, LLC
Fruit of the Loom~ “Vice President, Sales – Wal*Mart”
Page 2 of 4
Scope of Responsibilities
 Intellectual Leadership of FOTL’s Wal*Mart Business – The “VP, Sales” must be an
intellectual thought leader from a functional perspective. The expectation is that this
individual will quickly develop a command of overall FOTL industry trends and key
strategic Wal*Mart objectives and strategies. This individual must be able to synthesize
each of the Brands’ equities and strategies, consumer data, Wal*Mart objectives and
strategies, available POS data and financial parameters into compelling conceptual selling
presentations that build revenue and profit while meeting/exceeding Wal*Mart’s goals.
 Wal*Mart Relationship and Business Development – The new “VP, Sales” is
expected to develop the FOTL/Wal*Mart relationship as a true partnership (e.g., top-totop meetings, annual joint business plans, conceptual selling) that drives mutual business
productivity (e.g., faster annual revenue growth consistent with financial goals thru
improved sell-in, in store activation, and sell-thru). It is expected that the “VP, Sales” will
develop a scorecard/dashboard of metrics for overall ongoing performance measurement
and action plans against gaps. The “VP, Sales” is also expected to guide the engagement
of other FOTL functions with their respective counterparts at Wal*Mart. This will ensure all
mutually beneficial opportunities to build the business, are fully leveraged.
 Build & Activate Wal*Mart Programs – Lead the work to build strategic Wal*Mart
programs that are mutually beneficial in building revenue and profit across the FOTL
portfolio. These programs need to be distinctive. Additionally the “VP Sales” should
regularly report the results and learnings from these programs, both internally and with
Wal*Mart key management.
 Product, Merchandising, and Sales Execution Innovations – Innovation is a key
element of the both companies future growth strategy. A strong productive relationship
between FOTL and Wal*Mart (multi-functionally) will lead to insight-driven product,
package and merchandising innovations. A critical aspect is being part of the innovation
team to achieve the appropriate lead-time for both companies.
Performance & Success Measures
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Agreed-to annual Sales/Revenue targets
New Distribution objectives achieved across the FOTL portfolio
Expand existing Wal*Mart distribution and sell-through (e.g., sizes, variants)
Successful introduction of new brands/extensions/flankers (Distribution, Pricing, Merch)
Strong, 360-degree feedback from key internal and Wal*Mart relationships
Reporting Relationship(s)
This new “VP, Sales” for Wal*Mart will report to Mr. Dale Miller, SVP of Sales for
the company. Dale resides in Bowling Green, KY where he has been with Fruit of the Loom
for 20 years. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Kentucky University,
Dale joined Fruit of the Loom in 1993, where he has served in various positions in Customer
Service, Operations, Planning, and Sales. Since 2010, he has been SVP of Sales, with
responsibility for Walmart and Sam’s Club.
© 2014 Wiser Partners, LLC
Fruit of the Loom~ “Vice President, Sales – Wal*Mart”
Page 3 of 4
Key Internal Operating Relationships
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Chief Sales and Business Officer
Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer
SVP, Sales
VP, Planning
VP, Distribution
SVP,VP, Marketing
Sales Team members
Key External Operating Relationships (Wal*Mart)
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SVP, GMM
VP, DMM
Buyers
Replenishment Staff
Staff and Resources
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National Account
National Account
National Account
National Account
Business Analyst
Executive Men’s
Executive Ladies
Executive Kid’s
Executive Intimate Apparel
to support each functional area
Compensation & Benefits
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Base salary
Annual incentive bonus
401K & Healthcare benefits
Vacation
Relocation (to the greater Bentonville, AR or Bowling Green, KY area)
Candidate Profile
Experience Base
 Consumer Packaged Goods – Blue chip CPG, National Account Sales (Director-level,
minimum) with blue-chip, market-leading company (e.g., P&G, Unilever, Clorox, J&J).
Ideally, but not required, would be subsequent experience with a company or category
closer-in to Apparel.
 Big-Box/Mass Channel – Specific, proven experience developing a portfolio of brands
inside a major, big-box retailer, particularly in the U.S. Ideally, this new “VP” would have
experience with Wal*Mart, and ideally, they would have top-to-top relationship
management experience with senior management. Track record of establishing sustaining
customer relationships at all key levels to achieve desired results.
© 2014 Wiser Partners, LLC
Fruit of the Loom~ “Vice President, Sales – Wal*Mart”
Page 4 of 4
Experience Base continued
 Customer-Team Experience – History of working seamlessly with Marketing,
Manufacturing, Finance, and other functional counterparts on the overall go-to-market
strategy, new product initiatives and customer specific plans, in a company that values
“brands.” History of consistently using individual customer goals, strategies and
capabilities to tailor programs that generate success for both brands and customer.
 Conceptual Selling – Demonstrated ability to integrate key industry trends, consumer
understanding, competitive landscape, brand Marketing plans and category management
into a conceptual Sales presentation and that secures agreement to a recommended
business plan that achieves mutual objectives.
 Team Development – Experience recruiting, training and developing high-performing
Sales professionals, is required for this opportunity.
Skill Set
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Listening skills (listen first, then respond)
Intellectual horsepower (highly analytical & strategic)
Strong relationship management and interpersonal skills (high EQ)
Influencing (proven ability to persuade others towards an idea or goal)
Negotiation skills (proven ability to seek and close the right deals)
Complex problem-solving (create options, then converge)
Innovative and creative thinking (need fresh thinking)
Highly resourceful (stretches people and money; compresses time)
Organized and attention-to-detail approach (strong tactical execution)
Personality Profile
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Results focused team player; collaborative and inclusive
Energized by an entrepreneurial environment; comfortable “doing the work”
Entrepreneurial spirit and work habits
Persistent and resilient
Open, honest and genuine
Passionate and committed
Creative and imaginative
Relationship oriented vs. transaction oriented
Search Contact
David Wiser
Principal Partner – Cincinnati, OH Office
david@wiserpartners.com
513.919.4000 (M)
File: Position Specification/Fruit of the Loom/FOTL VP Sales WalMart Spec (02 14 14-F-DW)
© 2014 Wiser Partners, LLC