What are the top 10 key skills and attributes of top candidates within the niche of luxury brands?
I recently polled my team to find out their thoughts.

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As we are seeking top talent within our unique niche of luxury brands, we are constantly aligning our candidate criteria with market demands, including the key skills and attributes that our client companies are seeking in candidates that we present to them.

I polled the team here at The Bowerman Group to create a “Top 10” list of these criterion and thought I would share it with you. Although we didn’t all 100% agree on the nuances of each and every criteria, there was a strong commonality in the key themes.

These are not necessarily listed in order of priority; some of these would be universal in high-performing leaders from any industry and some are more unique to our world. If you are a hiring authority, see if these align with what you are seeking in candidates. If you are exploring new career opportunities, this could be an excellent checklist for you to prioritize what you share in your resume and highlight during interviews. And, of course, you should be ready to discuss these with your recruitment partner so that you rise to the top of that recruiter’s short list!

1. Consistent history of success driving year-over-year sales and key KPIs, along with the ability to articulate the strategies that led to these successes. Ability to demonstrate that the successes in your area of influence were based on your strategies and that you were not simply “riding the wave” of a successful brand.

2. Track record of developing a long-term strategic vision for your area of responsibility in line with the brand standards and overall vision of your company, along with a history of aligning other business partners with your vision.

3. A “luxury presence”; an engaging, front-facing brand ambassador. Demonstrated awareness and flexibility to connect with your company’s culture/environment, understands the nuances of a luxury brand’s selling ceremony and able to both demonstrate and communicate this to those around you.

4. Proven success in creating and implementing client development strategies that resulted in measurable sales increases.

5. The ability to identify, hire, and develop top talent, and to always be networking and developing your bench while demonstrating a history of employee retention and promotability.

 

 

6. A history of innovation and being a “positive disruptor”; taking initiative and willing to take calculated risks and assess for viability, while always being mindful of brand standards.

7. Operationally aware and focused on driving revenue while running a tight ship. Balancing passion for the brand and increasing sales with creating the operational framework to ensure the long-term viability of your area of responsibility.

8. Market awareness—speaking to what the competition is doing, who’s ahead and behind, how to leverage emerging sales channels. Be “plugged into” your chosen market so you can always benchmark where your business stands against others.

9. Adaptability—a demonstrated ability to drive business through times of brand shifts (target demographics, designer changes, product and market expansion/contraction), and successfully align your team with that changing brand vision.

10. Demonstrated strong internal and external partnerships to drive success—aligning retail, marketing, merchandising, and other corporate partners with the vision to reach a common goal and increase company revenues.

If you have any questions or would like to engage with our group as a candidate or client company, please call me at (508) 540-7414 or email rob@bowermangroup.com.

Rob Bowerman is President and Founder of The Bowerman Group- a leading executive search firm for luxury brands in the US and Canada. Rob is also President of The Pinnacle Society, the premier consortium of industry-leading recruiters in North America.