General Manager – Europe

KINTO is a premium Japanese home and living brand. The company focuses entirely on long-term sustainable growth by cultivating a positioning that matches its quality products and gracious designs. The General Manager will lead KINTO’s European organization, focusing on sales, team management, digital marketing, e-commerce, and process efficiency.

About KINTO

Encouraging warmth, balance, and connection, KINTO creates thoughtful objects that bring comfort and inspiration. The company designs its coffeeware, teaware, tableware, and lifestyle accessories to blend harmoniously with the living space while adding a unique touch. KINTO’s designs, textures, and materials – including glass, porcelain, stainless steel, and wood – center around usability and aesthetic balance. The company develops its functional and long-lasting products in Japan, works with manufacturing partners in Asia, and exports worldwide.

KINTO is a family business that employs about sixty people globally and earns yearly revenues of roughly thirty million euros, of which about two-thirds come from Japan. The company values working with retailers, cafes, hotels, and restaurants that fit its brand. This policy, supplemented with marketing, creates awareness among a targeted client group and fosters brand ambassadorship. KINTO is well aware that it could accelerate its sales through advertisements, a wider distribution network, price promotions, and sales targets for its staff. However, to protect its positioning and create long-term sustainable growth, it deliberately chooses not to.

In 2016 KINTO opened its European headquarters located in Amsterdam. Its key regional markets are the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Benelux. The total size of KINTO’s European business is about five million euros. The company sees plenty of expansion opportunities and estimates its sales in Europe to double over the next five years.

Vacancy: General Manager – Europe

The General Manager will lead KINTO’s European organization, currently consisting of six people who focus on sales and marketing, brand communications, sales operations, and logistics and customer service. The General Manager will empower them to contribute to the successful growth of the business and improve the efficiency of the workflow with a deep understanding of business operations and the capability to leverage digital technology. They will report to KINTO’s President of Europe and the US, who is also the global Chief Branding Officer.

“We like to work with partners and customers who share our philosophy and are excited ambassadors of our brand. We value quality over quantity and are confident that consistently delivering beautiful products will lead to sustainable growth. That is why we do not believe in aggressive target setting: it is short-term focused and will stand in the way of long-term success.” – Shimpei Koide, President of Europe and the US & Chief Branding Officer

KINTO’s customers are specialty interior and kitchen shops, charming coffee and tea boutiques, elegant hotels, and intimate cafes and restaurants. Recently, the company has expanded its scope to also include specific apparel and outdoor retailers. The General Manager will take the lead in sourcing new partners and managing the relationship with the most important existing accounts.

Digital marketing and e-commerce are strategic priorities for KINTO. Currently, the company earns twenty percent of its European revenue through direct online sales. The General Manager will advance the digital marketing and communication activities and ramp up the e-commerce business, creating synergies between online and offline that will nurture the brand.

The full scope of the General Manager position encompasses a wide range of disciplines: marketing, sales, brand communications, supply chain, logistics, HR management, system utilization, and team leadership and development. Product development and finance and accounting are handled in Japan. For an experienced leader in sales and/or marketing, the position offers a great chance to drive the expansion of a premium home and living brand with a strong long-term focus and in a geography with plenty of growth opportunities.

Interested?

Kinto Europe is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.
To express your interest, please contact Gijs Millaard at gijsmillaard@topofminds.com.