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Manager of the Month Tony Iannotti with Nestlé Rowntree sales development executive Stephanie Craig |
The Nestlé Rowntree Manager of the Month Award for April is awarded to Tony Iannotti, company director for Iannotti Bros Ltd based in Ayr. Iannotti Bros was founded 40 years ago by Iannotti's father and uncle. He now runs the business with cousin Roberto Iannotti and today it is a successful cash and carry and delivered wholesale operation and a member of the Sugro buying group.
Iannotti is a 'hands on' manager; not only is he responsible for the confectionery and snacks buying, but he can often be found unloading deliveries on a forklift truck, serving customers, dealing with supplier representatives and managing the business's ten employees.
He has been recognised for the April Manager of the Month award for the excellent execution of the launch of Nestlé's new 'connoisseur' chocolate brand.
Heaven is the combination of finest quality Swiss chocolate with a range of indulgent soft centres. It's available in two formats: a range of five 100g filled blocks (Dark Truffle, Milk Truffle, Milk Orange Truffle, Café Latte and Hazelnut Crème), and three Perles gift packs (Dark Truffle, Caramel Latte and Praline), plus a Perles mini gift pack in Dark Truffle flavour.
To maximise the success of the launch, Iannotti worked closely with Nestlé Rowntree sales development executive Stephanie Craig and Iannotti Bros field sales executive Robin Doncaster to deliver a number of initiatives which covered customers from all areas of the business. This included supporting the Nestlé Rowntree car sales representative with enough Heaven stock to enable them to car sell to local retailers. They targeted the cash and carry customers through a high-impact off-shelf display in a prime position so no-one could miss it.
What's more, they also worked together to prioritise the call file for Doncaster, ensuring he focused on those outlets most likely to cater to Heaven's target consumers. This included cafes, retailers which stock glossy women's magazines and quality confectioners. All of this activity has had an excellent result for Iannotti Bros sales of Heaven, with more than 350 outers sold in the first two weeks.
Outside of work Iannotti is kept busy by his family. He is married with two children who he often acts as taxi driver for! He is also a keen supporter of Ayr United FC.
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