BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
BikeBiz catches up with Jay Man, newly-appointed area sales manager for East, Home Counties and North London for Extra UK
What attracted you to your new role at Extra?
Extra has a fantastic portfolio of brands and an opportunity came up in my region that was a perfect fit for me in terms of timing, territory and brands. I’m excited to be working with some of the greatest brands in cycling and particularly pleased to be working with Abus again.
The team at Extra have been so welcoming, they have a very focused approach all managed by a small experienced team, it’s very refreshing. I’m enjoying having the opportunity to work on company forward planning, there are some 2020 plans where my previous experience is of use, to be involved so soon is exciting.
What is your background in the industry?
I’ve worked in the account management side of business for over 20 years. My background is in the advertising and marketing sector.
I’ve always ridden bikes and I had the opportunity to join the cycle industry with Zyro four years ago. It’s an industry I’m really enjoying and I feel privileged to be part of.
What is your experience of working with IBDs and how do you plan to evolve these relationships?
I’ve built up some really strong relationship with the IBDs in the East and I’ll be working closely with all my stores maximising their retail opportunities. The IBDs have a great opportunity to interact with their customers ‘face to face’ on a daily basis and having the right mix of brands and products to sell instore is so important.
Regular store visits, staff training, sharing market knowledge and brand inspiration are all important parts of my role at Extra UK and I look forward to catching up with all my IBD stores soon.
