Another industry company has snapped up a former Billabong USA sales executive.
Angi Broberg, previously the National Sales Manager for Billabong Women, started at L*Space this week as the Director of Sales and Merchandising.
As we reported last Friday, former Billabong Men’s National Sales Manager Jeff Booth is the new Core National Sales Manager for Sanuk.
L*Space partners Paul Carr and Monica Wise answered some questions for me about Angi’s new role at the popular swimwear brand.
Why hire Angi?
Paul and Monica: Angi has extensive experience in both sales management and retail buying. We believe that some of the best managers come from a retail background and Angi spent many years in retail. She was a Nordstrom buyer before she joined Billabong.
It made sense to hire Angi – we believe she is the perfect fit. We can utilize her knowledge in sales as well as her expertise in product. We think she will be a great addition to our team.
What duties will she handle?
Paul and Monica: Angi will have a unique position within our company. As Director of Sales and Merchandising, she will oversee both the sales and M&D team.
She will be working closely with Monica and her design team. This will free up Monica from management duties and allow Monica to focus on the creative side of the business.
Angi will also work closely with our sales division leader, Debby Martin, on forecasting, planning and budgeting. We believe this position will add a layer to the business that will take our brand to the next level.
Does Angi have swimwear expertise?
Paul and Monica: We didn’t hire Angi for her swimwear expertise, although she does have 12 years of experience selling swim.Â
Our focus for Angi is to manage the business. She was National Sales Manager for Billabong Women as the team grew sales from $0 to $100 million, and that says a lot about her management skills. We believe her experience in apparel will be very beneficial for L*Space and we are looking forward to growing L*Space apparel in the future.
How will her position mesh with Debby’s?
Paul and Monica: Debby has done an amazing job building our business and she will continue to lead our Sales Division. Having Angi on board will free up some of Debby’s time so she can continue to work directly with the reps and accounts.
Debby will also have more time to spend on retail marketing, which is a very important part of our business. We believe the combination of Debby and Angi will make a dynamic duo in the swim industry.
What’s next for L*Space?
Paul and Monica: We are really excited for Spring 14! We are concentrating on the L*Space brand and have merged our one pieces and clothing under the L*Space corporation with branding as L*Space Maio, and L*Space Threads.
This keeps an open door for our brand and what Monica will dream of next.
