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View Harry Joiner’s profile

HARRY’S COMMENTS: We are working with a confidential client in their search for a VP of Ecommerce based in North Los Angeles — which, if you dig bicycling, is pretty much heaven on earth.

About the Client

With 50 years of brand equity, this client is a market-leading player in the custom automotive accessory market, providing premium quality exterior and interior protection products. It’s the world’s largest manufacturer of custom-patterned vehicle covers and its product lines include custom front and rear seat protectors, front end masks, dashboard covers, floor mats, window heat-shields and pet protection products, among others.

I know what you’re thinking: “Who the heck needs a car cover?” Well, on the one hand, if that’s what you’re thinking, then this might not be the right opportunity for you. On the other hand, it’s an honest question.

The obvious reason people purchase a cover for their beloved ride is to protect it from the weather. The sun’s UV rays will wreak havoc on a car’s exterior and cause rubber trim to crack as well as damage its interior.

That’s where this client comes in. With a library that includes more than 450,000 distinct automotive patterns, the company (and its associated brands) can cover almost any car ever made. If one of the client’s covers saves a vehicle’s owner just one car wash per month, then it pays for itself in one year.

But how big is this market? It sounds like a quaint little niche, right?

Wrong! The total retail market size for vehicle protection accessories is estimated at $1.7 billion with custom vehicle protection accessories comprising ~65% of the market. Most categories are growing at 2-to-5% per year.

That’s all I’m going to say about that. Except: NEVER in my 15 year career as a digital marketing recruiter has a client given me more proprietary intel than this client. Seriously.

We’ve got detailed, recent, proprietary research from the client about its …

1. Market Size & Growth
2. Performance & Customer Feedback
3. Competitive Landscape,
4. Growth Opportunities
5. Target Markets / Personas
6. Marketing Strategy, and
7. Media Mix Plan

But I’m sure as heck not going to share that with just anyone. If you make to the THIRD round of discussions with this client, then Allan and I will show you our stuff. Don’t be surprised if the client asks you to sign an NDA.

About the Role

Without going into a ton of detail (and believe me, there’s a ton of detail I could go into), this job involves bringing a greater sense of structure and strategic sensibility to the client’s portfolio of more than ten online brands plus its third party markets business. These brands run on three different platforms (one of which is in-house), leverage different marketing stacks, and market to different niches.

THIS IS NOT A TURN AROUND: You’ll manage a FAST GROWING ecommerce P&L in the tens of millions of dollars.

Your mission will be to 1.) Reconfigure and/or supplement the current team to accommodate the demands of the business, 2.) Develop a strategy around the consolidation of the client’s tech stack, and 3.) Understand and optimize the profitability of its digital business.

You won’t believe how much we know about this search …

Allan Seibert and I spent 120 minutes on the phone with this client’s EVP of Sales & Marketing teasing out exactly what you’ll need to KNOW and DO to hit the ground running in this role. Some of the things I can share with highly qualified candidates include …

1. The “real” background requirements for this position, along with the top five things all resumes MUST have to be considered for the role.
2. The top five problems that exist due to this position being open. These are the little brush fires you will be expected to put out during your first month on the job. Every job has these — and this one’s no different.
3. What your average day / week will look like in this role. There’s what you read in the standard job posting … then there’s reality. We’ve got the reality.
4. The leading and lagging KPI’s that will determine your success in this role. In a nutshell: How you keep score as the firm’s new VP of Ecommerce.
5. The major projects you’ll need to complete by Day 100 to be considered a home-run in this position. We’ve got the lowdown on how you can plug-and-play and drive REAL value in this job.

We have a massive amount of proprietary intel to share with qualified candidates. Our industry research for this assignment exceeds 100 pages! Be sure to TEXT Allan Seibert at (706) 318-1196 for this info. Or simply use the email link when you apply for the role below.

View Harry Joiner’s profile

Areas of Oversight

• Development: Internal team of 3-4 that works with agencies on Site enhancements, UX, UI, user testing, database, A/B testing, personalization, vehicle data, SEO platforms, integrations, migrations, security, site performance, and load speed
• Marketing: Internal team that manages Product content, new products, curation, banners, photography, branding, cross sells, ratings and reviews
• SEM: Outside agency that manages PPC, remarketing, display, social
• Email: Internal team that handles list management, scheduling, segmentation, managing deliverability
• Social Media: Outside agency that handles USG, social posts, contests, community
• Customer Service: Internal team that manages phone center, email requests, online chat, order tracking, payments, swatches, upsell
• Analytics: Internal team that handles KPIs, business analytics, AB testing, platforms, user conversions

UPDATE: THIS SEARCH IS CLOSED.