Dan Stanilonis

Dan Stanilonis

Outdoor Industry Professional · Action Sport Optics

South Burlington, VT

In My Own Words

I have worked in the outdoor industry for over 25 years at both the wholesale and retail levels. My experience in wholesale started at the ground floor working from the bottom up and has given me an in-depth understanding of the industry from warehousing, customer service, logistics, operations, product development, sales, sales management, key account management, marketing functions and more. My successful entrepreneurial journey with founding, bootstrapping and growing Action Sport Optics LLC into a leading specialized E-commerce operation gave me deep experience in both online and brick & mortar retail. This both sides of the fence experience gave me an intimate understanding of the needs of both the wholesaler and retailer. Building strong collaborative working relationships with sales teams, customers, internal teams and partners is a strong point for me. It is these relationships that have come through time and time again in reaching goals and solving challenges with positive outcomes. I work in the outdoor industry as I like to be surrounded by like minded people who enjoy active, fun, and healthy lifestyles while combining personal passions with careers. My skills, experience, lifestyle & demeanor would directly benefit a outdoor industry related company in sales management, regional sales management, key account management, marketing, sales, operational roles and more!

Work Experience

Founder - Action Sport Optics LLC

Action Sport Optics

2011 – 2024

• Founded, envisioned and bootstrapped Action Sport Optics LLC into a leading specialized E-commerce operation focused on sport & lifestyle related optics. Achieved significant growth in customer base and revenue. • Created strategic & healthy business relationships with all business partners. • Became #1 specialized Oakley dealer within our territory serving 1000s of Oakley customers. • Identified & fixed website issues for increased conversion rates. • Became known for elevated product knowledge & expedited customer service which increased retention and repeat customers. • Managed all buying and product assortments for all brands. • Created, designed and merchandised a visually appealing website that delivered ease of use. • Created healthy working relationships with brand reps and sales managers resulting in increased opportunities, margins and marketing opportunities. • Negotiated all inventory purchases, agreements, discounts & payment terms leading to increased margins and on time payments. • Developed a multi-channel sales integration between leading 3rd party platforms leading to accuracy across channels, consistency and increased sales. • Created and analyzed P&Ls to identify opportunities to increase company margins. • Created company operational procedures which resulted in efficiency and accuracy. • Managed 3rd party shipping & receiving delivering accurate shipping and inventory. • Continually Improved SEO, analytics, PPC, retargeting, blogs and social media resulting increased sales, visibility, traffic, and website authority. • Identify integration issues & work directly with developers solving issues. • Created, maintained and improved all product web pages, page content and product copy resulting in 1st page search results. • Wrote in-depth product descriptions with a no questions unanswered philosophy. • Successfully prepared company to be acquired, and successfully executed sale of the company while retaining key business relationships.

National Sales & Key Account Manager, Gordini USA - Drop MFG

Gordini USA, Inc.

2007 – 2011

• Worked directly with a broad range of key accounts understanding each other’s business objectives, identifying opportunities, providing support and solving challenges. • Supported key specialty, big box and leading online accounts with brand assets that promoted brand consistency and supported sell through. • Collaboratively worked with key accounts to identify opportunities, promote sell through & solve challenges. • Hired, managed, supported and worked directly with 10 regional sales reps. • A transformational leadership approach empowered sales teams to reach and exceed goals. • Developed focused sales programs that benefited both brand and retailer. • Attended trade shows meeting directly with partners, buyers and owners presenting new product collections. • Territory travel strengthened relationships, identified opportunities and solved challenges. • Managed factory PO’s maintaining optimal inventory levels. • Attended and worked directly with industry buying groups including NBS, SMC, and SSL (WSM) reaching key specialty retailers. • Stayed abreast with competitors products, pricing and marketing. • Created optimized distribution strategies that maximized sales opportunities while not being over distributed. • Collaboratively worked with internal marketing and product teams ensuring sales teams had sellable collections that met current market demands and trends. • Creation, management and allocation of marketing budgets. • Negotiated and purchased all media advertising, digital and print while staying on budget. • Spearheaded all social media initiatives that promoted engagement, brand and consumer awareness. • Developed in store and online POP in collaboration with marketing and sales teams that promoted product features, benefits and increasing sell through. • Hired and worked directly with external PR firm to drive increased brand visibility and consumer awareness. • Created MAP price policies upholding brand equity and clean markets.

Sales & Key Account Manager, Northwave North America

Northwave

1997 – 2007

• Collaboratively managed and supported 9 regional sales reps for the Canadian & eastern USA territories for Northwave Snowboard Boots, Drake Snowboard Bindings and Bakoda accessories. • Adopted a transformational leadership approach that empowered sales teams to surpass goals, driving market and category dominance. •Cross team collaboration with marketing and product teams delivered sellable product collections that met current market demands at competitive price points. • Worked collaboratively with marketing and sales teams in creating initiatives that drove brand awareness, consumer demand and product sell through. • Stayed abreast with competitor products, pricing and marketing campaigns. • Worked directly with regional sales teams optimizing distribution strategy that maximized sales opportunity while not being over distributed. • Managed factory purchase orders maintaining optimal inventory levels, strategically creating scarcity to drive demand. • Attended and worked directly with industry buying groups including SMC, SSL (WSM) delivering key specialty retailers products at favorable terms, discounts and support. • Traveled visiting key accounts which strengthened relationships, identified opportunities, solved challenges and fostered growth. • Created sales programs that promoted growth, favorable terms, discount structures, competitive pricing and margin building opportunities. • Worked directly with sales reps, product development, and marketing teams in product line development and marketing campaigns. • Attended trade shows and demos presenting new product collections, supporting sales force, and meeting directly with key accounts. • Worked with internal teams as needed in support of trade show coordination, set up & execution. • Created & managed warranty/customer service dept. Developed companies’ warranty/return policies and provided 1st class customer service. Resulted in becoming known for superior service and increased customer retention.

Warranty Manager

Ride Snowboards

1995 – 1997

• A leading manufacturer of snowboards, boots, bindings, and apparel. • Managed warranty dept for all brands. • Research and development for Ride Snowboards/Preston Bindings. • Developed companies customer service and warranty return process.

Education

Evironmental Studies

Johnson State College

1990 – 1994

Skills

Strategic PlanningHigh Energy LevelGross Margin AnalysisFootwearFinancial MetricsAmazon MarketplaceOnline Sales PlatformMAPMAPOmni-Channel MarketingOmni Channel StrategiesMulti-Channel CommercePoint of PurchaseKey MetricsKey Performance IndicatorsMarket ResearchDTCTrade ShowsCross-team CollaborationPrice PositioningData & Sales Data AnalysisBuild Strong RelationshipsRelationship BuildingCollaborative Problem SolvingTeamworkGoogle AnalyticsProduct DescriptionsSearch Engine Optimization (SEO)Online MerchandisingEntrepreneurshipCustomer SatisfactionSales ProgramsPricing StrategyBusiness DevelopmentTrade Show PresentationsSales PresentationsEmail MarketingOnline MarketingDigital MarketingOperations ManagementE-CommerceSales PlanningProblem SolvingCommunicationMarket DevelopmentIdentifying New OpportunitiesBudget ManagementForecastingP&L AnalysisNew Business DevelopmentDistribution StrategiesAccount ManagementWholesaleInventory ManagementNegotiationKey Account Relationship BuildingSales Management

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