ASB MAGAZINE:  Multi-disciplined sales professional Stuart Bates has been appointed the National Sales Manager at Hurley Australia. Bates background covers a wide range of experiences from GM, Buyer, Sales & Brand Manager, Team Builder & Retail Merchant over a 14 year period.

Bates most recent experience was General Manager Merchandise at SurfStitch.com a position he held until May this year after two and half years with the online retailer. Prior to that Stuart Bates held various positions including Senior Men’s Buyer at Boardsports Retail / Billabong, Global Brand Manager at Insight / Bleach as well as Head Of Buying at Quiksilver Retail

I am stoked to say Stuart Bates has started today with us as National Sales Manager”, said Hurley’s Marketing Manager, Mick Talbot.

Hurley Business Director Jason Ang added;  “We are extremely excited to welcome Stu to the Hurley family.  His experience, passion and relationships will be a great asset to us as we  move into a new era for our brand and what feels like an exciting new era for our industry.  We are excited at the challenges and opportunities that 2019 has in store for us, Stu is the right man for the job and will no doubt have a super positive impact from the get go.”
ASBMAG caught up with Stuart to get his first thoughts and impression at Hurley.

What is it like to join the Hurley family?

It’s amazing! I have worked in the industry over the past 20 years with most of that time being on the other side of the fence as a retailer and merchant. I have always enjoyed working with the team at Hurley and it’s refreshing to move over to a wholesale operation and especially an iconic business like Hurley / Nike that is focused on board sports and innovation. I’m really passionate about the industry and the brand, so I’m looking forward to settling into the role and the challenge ahead. 

What is the first order of business?

My first focus is around relationships, whether they be internal or external. Get to know our internal team and agents, there are some new faces in the team and then get to know our accounts and customers – quickly and understand their territories, their businesses, opportunities and challenges.  This is key in my first few months!

We all know it hasn’t been easy sailing the past year or so in our industry so I’m really looking forward to a new year, making a seamless transition from buying to selling, understanding the Hurley business and the strategic plan ahead and then hopefully adding value in my new role from all my prior experience and key learnings across the years in brick and mortar and e-commerce retailing.

Please join us in welcoming Stuart Bates to the Hurley team.

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