Burton is moving back to an independent sales force model in the West a year after bringing that territory in-house, according to a memo sent to employees by CEO Mike Rees.
Chris Bernard, who spent many years as the New York/Northeast independent rep for Burton and most recently worked as the Director of Business Development at Burton headquarters in Vermont, will take on a new role as the Principal Rep for the region.
Chris will be based in Orange County and work out of Burton’s Costa Mesa showroom. He will be hiring a sales rep force to service the territory.
Marc Berardi, who previously was the lead rep for the Northwest before moving in-house to become Burton’s Western Regional Sales Director for Specialty & Resorts, will take on a new job with the company.
Marc will continue as a Burton employee, but in a new role that supports the independent sales agencies on the West Coast as well as the Western Rockies. He will continue to be based in Seattle.
It is unclear why the company is moving back to the independent model in the West, or if the restructuring means similar changes are planned in other regions. A Burton spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the memo.
Here is the memo sent by CEO Mike Rees.
“Hi All,
“We have some news to share today about the West Coast sales team structure for the specialty channel. In response to the quickly evolving West Coast specialty market, we’ve decided to re-establish an independent sales force to service our specialty retailers in the key states of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and Alaska.
“With this change, we’re excited to announce that our own Chris Bernard has just accepted the Principal Rep role for this territory. Starting July 1, Chris will be based out of Burton’s Costa Mesa showroom where he will hire a rep staff to support the region. We’re confident that this approach is the best way for Burton to service our valued specialty retail partners on the West Coast.
“Back at Burton HQ, Mark Wakeling will now oversee the entire U.S. specialty channel. And Marc Berardi will continue as an in-house Burton employee based at our Seattle showroom with an expanded role that includes supporting all of our independent sales agencies on the West Coast, as well as the Western Rockies.
Congrats to Chris on his new opportunity out West. And please let Mark Wakeling or Chris Bernard know if you have any questions about the new structure.
Best,
Mike”
