Regional Sales Manager (East) - TOPO Athletic

designerbrands; Framingham (MA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Topo Athletic, part of Designer Brands, seeks a Regional Sales Manager in Framingham, MA to own regional strategy and drive growth across wholesale accounts. You’ll unite independent reps and retail partners, translating national goals into local plans while staying connected to the running community.

You’ll lead with data-driven insights, manage sell-in, and influence cross-functional teams to deliver a consistent brand experience across channels. Hybrid work awaits.

Qualifications

• 5 years of wholesale sales experience in athletic footwear, apparel, or outdoor goods.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business or similar, or equivalent experience.
• Proven ability to influence and align independent reps and cross-functional peers.

Responsibilities

• Turn regional goals into a localized plan aligning with brand strategy.
• Lead and motivate a network of independent sales reps and technical reps.
• Develop relationships with retail buyers and drive sell-in and replenishment.
• Use CRM/BI tools to forecast and monitor performance against KPIs.

Skills

Wholesale sales

Leadership

Presentation skills

Negotiation

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business or similar

Tools

NuOrder

Elastic

NetSuite

Excel/Power BI

Salesforce

Job description

At Designer Brands, we are the proud parent company of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, The Shoe Company, and Rubino, operating nearly 675 stores across North America and a billion-dollar digital commerce business. We lead the footwear industry with a diverse portfolio of iconic brands, including Topo Athletic, Keds, Vince Camuto, Kelly & Katie, Jessica Simpson, Lucky Brand, Mix No. 6, Crown Vintage, and others. With expertise in design, production, and sourcing, we create on-trend footwear and accessories, delivered through a robust omni-channel infrastructure and national wholesale distribution. At Designer Brands, we are committed to fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity, where each employee’s unique perspective contributes to our success. Anchored by our core values of “We Love What We Do,” “We Own What We Do,” “We Do What’s Right,” and “We Belong,” we continuously drive forward together, building a future where everyone can put their best foot forward.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to own a region, shape how the brand shows up in the marketplace, and build the relationships that turn national sales strategy into local growth. As Regional Sales Manager, you’ll connect the big picture with what’s happening every day across your territory, translating sales goals into a regional plan that makes sense for your customers, your market, and the business.

You’ll have the autonomy to understand your territory, identify opportunities, and adjust your approach based on what you’re seeing in the market. Along the way, you’ll bring together independent sales representatives and technical representatives, build trusted partnerships with retail buyers, and help create a consistent brand experience across wholesale accounts.

For someone who understands the athletic, running, or outdoor space, this role offers the chance to combine commercial leadership with a genuine connection to the communities we serve. You’ll bring insights from the field back into the business, helping influence how we grow while staying close to the retailers and consumers who bring the brand to life.

What You’ll Be Doing

Lead & Bring the Regional Strategy to Life

• Turn the broader sales strategy into an actionable business plan for your territory, with clear priorities around revenue, margin, and sell-through goals.
• Monitor performance and market data throughout the season and adjust local tactics as opportunities or challenges emerge.
• Lead, align, and motivate a network of independent sales representatives and technical representatives, helping the team focus on the right accounts and execute the brand’s sell-in strategies.
• Stay connected to the field through ride-alongs and regional sales meetings, providing direction and helping the team deliver against shared goals.

Build Retail Partnerships That Drive Growth

• Develop trusted relationships with national and regional retail buyers, partnering on assortment planning, at-once and pre-book orders, in-season replenishment, pricing, and markdown strategies.
• Use sales performance and sell-through insights to identify opportunities that help retail partners and the brand grow together.
• Lead engaging seasonal sell-in conversations, using sales data, retailer trends, and sell-through performance to make thoughtful recommendations.
• Present new collections to retail buyers and secure purchase orders against established targets.

Turn Market Insights Into Action

• Use CRM and BI tools to monitor account performance against key performance indicators and provide accurate forecasts to the Sales Director.
• Track competitive activity, customer feedback, and local market trends.
• Bring what you’re learning in the field back to the business, translating market information into practical insights that can inform future brand and sales strategies.

Partner Across the Business

• Be the voice of your territory internally, bringing customer needs, opportunities, and market insights to cross-functional partners.
• Collaborate with demand planning, marketing, customer service, and credit teams to resolve account needs and support seamless order fulfillment.
• Partner on local co-op marketing initiatives that help retailers connect the brand with their communities.

Show Up for the Running & Outdoor Community

• Represent the brand at industry events and in the communities where our customers live, shop, run, and explore, including The Running Event, GOA, regional rep group shows, run clubs, races, and expos.
• Help create a consistent and engaging brand presence across retail channels and store-level activations.

What You’ll Need

Experience & Education

• 5 years of wholesale sales experience in athletic footwear, apparel, or outdoor/sporting goods, with a proven track record of exceeding revenue targets.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business or similar, or equivalent experience.

Sales Leadership & Business Skills

• Demonstrated ability to influence and align independent sales representatives and cross-functional peers.
• Strong tactical and analytical acumen, including experience executing regional plans, working with sell-through data, conducting margin analysis, and managing to specific KPIs.
• Excellent presentation and negotiation skills, with the ability to confidently communicate and run effective sell-in meetings with accounts of various formats.
• Familiarity with executing co-op marketing funds and local grassroots brand activations.

Technology & Tools

• Proficiency with CRM/order management systems such as NuOrder, Elastic, and NetSuite, and advanced Excel/BI tools such as NSAW, Salesforce, and Power BI for tracking and reporting.

Travel & Location

• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel by car and air up to 10 days per month.
• This position is hybrid. Candidates must be commutable to the Framingham, MA office, with an expectation of working in the office 1–2 days per week.

Preferred Experience

• Ownership of an existing, actionable book of business in the run specialty space, such as relationships with independent running stores across the Midwest, Southeast, or Northeast.
• Personal background in road running, trail running, or hiking, competitive or recreational, with a genuine, demonstrable passion for the run and outdoor communities.
• Deep existing relationships with run specialty retailers and/or regional sporting goods chains within the territory are strongly preferred.
• Management experience preferred.

Topo Athletic is a young, rapidly growing athletic footwear company on a mission to help people move better, for life. Our core values of authenticity, ambition, clarity, and connection drive everything we do at Topo. If you join our team, you’ll not only have an impact on our business but the opportunity to have an impact on the communities and people we serve.