Bret Baker

Experience

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  Reebok

  Jan 1990 - Jan 2003

  Director of Apparel Sales - East

  Directing the sales, marketing and customer service activities in 21 states with a team of 20 account managers, independent sales representatives and field market representatives, I grew our results to over $30M in 5 years and increased territory volume by 16%. I analyzed and monitored sales by trade channel, category and gender against goals and established assortment plans to drive sales success and customer satisfaction. I also developed and managed a $900,000 budget with P&L accountability.Starting with Reebok as a Key Account Representative, I was responsible for sales in 3 states and grew sales from $700,000 to $2.7M in 3 years. I was promoted to District Manager, Apparel, supervising 5 Account Representatives, managing 6 major accounts and growing the territory to 5 states with more than doubled sales. During my career with Reebok, I received recognition as Sales Representative of the Year, Top Ranked Apparel District, Highest Regional Gross Profit Percentage, Apparel Director of the Year and #1 Director in New Account Development. Show less

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  Russell Athletic

  Jan 2003 - Jan 2008

  National Director of Sales

  Planning and implementing sales strategies to impact U.S. sales through marketing, customer service and field merchandising, I led a diverse 41-person sales force and support team for multiple brands. We achieved $53M in sales across 3 brands with distinctly different business models, created a product line differentiator to increase market share with high-end department stores and drove the College Licensed program to over $7M by partnering with major department stores. I also launched the first-ever athletic apparel program with 3 significant online, men’s apparel and food companies. Under my leadership, our sales team was able to maintain sales and profit numbers despite major account consolidations and store closings. I established strong relationships with executives, buyers and key decision makers across all accounts and created our internal product and marketing direction. I also partnered with Russell’s senior management to develop short- and long-term plans to drive profitable business, consistently exceeding goals even during periods of major corporate and territorial restructuring. We were ranked the Top Gross Profit division each year and I was recognized as a company leader in New Account and New Market Development. Show less

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  Broyhill Furniture

  Jan 2008 - Jan 2012

  Vice President - Key Accounts

  Developing and implementing short- and long-term strategies for our 30 top volume accounts, I manage a 12-person sales team. To improve results, I helped orchestrate the overall redesign of our sales platform to match top representatives with high volume and growth dealers and our compensation model for commission and salaried sales staff. I also helped initiate our Dealer Advisory Board to gain dealer feedback and merchandising alignment during product development. I began my career with Broyhill as Regional Sales Manager, Central Region, where I managed sales for a 10-state region and led 11 commissioned sales representatives. I was a leader in a significant brand turnaround project to regain market share , stabilize margins and increase profitability.Promoted to Regional Sales Manager, South Region, I was accountable for a 13-state territory and an 11-person sales team. I then served as Director of Key Accounts, where I fostered relationships with key customers through merchandising, marketing and logistics support to enhance sales. During my tenure with Broyhill, each of my teams has been recognized as first in the company for Top Sales, Top Region, National Promotion Penetration and Distribution Drive Success. Show less

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  Thomasville, Broyhill and Lane Brands

  Jan 2013 - Jul 2015

  Vice President of Sales -U.S. Territory accounts

  Drove Sales and Marketing efforts for Thomasville, Broyhill and Lane brands in the U.S. Managed 3 Regional Vice Presidents and 35 in house sales reps with responsibility for $107M in annual revenue across 1400 dealers.Restructured 3 distinctly branded, soloed sales forces into a unified consolidated sales team substantially reducing selling costs and eliminating redundancies in coverage.

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  Fineline Technologies

  Aug 2015 - Sept 2017

  Vice President of Sales and Marketing

  Manage Sales and Marketing efforts for Fineline Technologies. Fineline is a retail ticketing solutions company with clients ranging from Nordstrom to Under Armour. We are also at the forefront of R.F.I.D. (Radio Frequency Identification) technology and provide integrated ticketing solutions to both Retailers and Brands across the world. We have hub facilities in Norcross, Georgia and Shenzhen, China and additional manufacturing in Costa Mesa, California and Montreal, Canada. Fineline produces tickets and labels including integrated RFID with a 48 hour average turnaround time versus an industry average of 5-7 days. Fineline = Speed, Service and Innovation. Show less

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  Amer Rugs Inc.

  Oct 2017 - Jul 2018

  National Sales Director
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  Flexsteel Industries Inc.

  Aug 2018 - Sept 2019

  Retail Development / National Accounts Manager
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  Woodhaven Furniture industries - A division of Aaron's,Inc.

  Dec 2019 - now

  New Business Development & Integration Manager

  Lead new business development with Woodhaven Upholstery & Bedding into new distribution channels such as Top 100 retailers, E-Commerce and Contract. Woodhaven is a high quality, quick turn domestically made upholstery and bedding manufacturer.