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Sales & Marketing Market Insights Q1 2017

2016 was a challenging year for sales and marketing functions across key industries in Hong Kong. 

Due to uncertainties at the macro level, organisations were being ever more vigilant in their hiring strategies. Job seekers typically faced a longer application and interview process.

In 2016, we saw a trend where job vacancies were often replacements rather than newly created positions. It was also a year where we saw an increase in temporary and contract positions as opposed to permanent positions. This phenomenon was a reflection that businesses still felt uncertain about the short-to-medium term economic outlook for Hong Kong.

Retail faced a challenging year in 2016

Overall the retail sector continued to be sluggish in 2016, especially for luxury brands, watch & jewellery and wine & spirits companies. As retail demand continued to slow down in Hong Kong, many businesses faced a drop in sales and profit margin compared to 2015.

In times of such adversity, we saw companies repositioning their recruitment strategy by bringing in professionals who are experienced in directing and steering businesses out of challenging environments. In this regard, professionals with hands-on experience in business performance turnaround are highly favourable in today's Hong Kong job market.

For other parts of retail such as FMCG and mass retail sectors, hiring activity remained low especially at the mid-management level roles. Despite a challenging 2016 for retail hiring, we saw a continual demand for professionals strong in retail operations due to high staff turnover at the store operations level.

Digital and start-up sales & marketing roles will be in demand

Going into Q1 2017, as e-Commerce matures and the number of online shoppers grows, we expect to see an increased demand for professionals with strong digital marketing and CRM experience. These professionals will find themselves with plenty of career opportunities in the months ahead. We also expect to see a continual demand for talent in financial services organisations, especially in terms of specialist sales functions such as risk and compliance sales roles. 

In recent times, there has been a build up in momentum from start-ups and developing companies. Although Singapore has been positioned as the start-up hub in Asia, we expect this may change based on the trend we observed over the last 12 months in 2016. Many local and international start-ups have chosen Hong Kong as a starting point. With start-ups, the challenge in talent attraction will continue to exist. While there is a diverse talent pool in Hong Kong offering an excellent mix of skills and international experience, the majority of job seekers will still prefer to join established companies with proven track record of success.

Many start-ups offer equity to professionals to remain competitive. For professionals who are keen to join start-ups, we highly recommend that you conduct research and due diligence on these new companies before making the decision to join.

Sales & Marketing
Salary Report for Q1 2017*

Banking & Financial Services

 

 

Job title

Years of experience

Annual salary range (HK$)

Marketing  

Marketing Director 

15+ 

1.4M–2M+

VP, Marketing

12+

780K1.3M

AVP / Manager Marketing

610

540K720K

Associate / Assistant Marketing Manager

35

240K480K

Head of Corporate Communications / Affairs

15+ 

1.3M1.8M+

VP, Corporate Communications / Affairs 

12+

720K1.2M

AVP / Manager Corporate Communications / Affairs

610

480K 720K

Associate / Assistant Corporate Communications Manager

35

240K480K

Head of Events

15+

1.1M1.5M+

VP Events

12+

660K1M

AVP / Manager Events

610

480K600K

Event Specialist 

3

240K420K

VP Media Relations 

610

720K1.3M

Head of Market Research / Business Intelligence 

15+ 

1.2M1.7M+

Market Research / Business Intelligence Manager

610

600K900K

 

 

 

Commerce & Industry

 

 

Job title

Years of experience

Annual salary range (HK$)

Media / Entertainment 

Chief Editor

15+

900K1.3M

Marketing Director 

15+ 

1M1.2M

Director, Sales 

15+

1M1.5M

Director, Distribution 

12+ 

1M1.2M

Associate, Media Sales 

10+ 

720K1M

Associate Director, Distribution 

10+ 

720K1M

Manager, Sales 

8+ 

480K720K

Marketing Manager 

510

420K720K

Distribution Manager 

6

420K650K

Programming Manager

58

300K540K

Executive, Sales

35

300K480K

Marketing Executive

3

240K360K


FMCG

General Manager 

15+ 

1.5M+

Sales Director 

12+ 

840K1.3M

Sales Manager 

8+ 

540K720K

Key Account Manager 

68

390K520K

Assistant Key Account Manager 

35

260K360K

Marketing Director 

15+ 

840K1.3M

Marketing Manager 

10+ 

650K910K

Assistant Marketing Manager 

6

390K520K

Senior Brand Manager 

710 

520K780K

Brand Manager 

58

360K520K

Assistant Brand Manager 

35

300K360K

Category Manager 

5

360K 480K

Assistant Category Manager 

3

240K360K

Product Manager 

5

360K480K

Assistant Product Manager 

3

300K360K

Trade Marketing Manager 

5

360K520K

Assistant Trade Marketing Manager 

35

300K360K


IT / Telecommunications 

Managing Director

15+

2.5M+

Head of Sales 

15+

1.8M2.2M

Sales/Business Development Director

1015+

1.3M1.6M

Sales Manager

68+

540K800K+

Account Manager

35

400K600K

Head of Marketing 

15+

1.2M1.6M

Marketing Director 

1015

800K1.2M

Marketing Manager 

8+ 

500K720K

Assistant Marketing Manager 

6+ 

350K500K

Channel Manager

4

500K800K

Product Manager 

3

400K600K

Social Media Manager

58

520K650K

Sales Operation Manager  

810

325K400K


Professional Services

Marketing Director 

15+ 

1M1.5M

Marketing Manager 

68+ 

480K780K

Corporate Communications Manager

58

480K720K

Business Development Director 

15+ 

1.2M1.6M

Business Development Manager 

68+ 

600K960K

Business Development/Marketing Executive

35

300K600K

PR Manager 

68+ 

480K720K


Industrial & Manufacturing

General Manager

15+

1.3M1.8M

Sales/Business Development Director

1015

800K1.3M

Business Development Manager 

810

650K800K

Sales Manager

68

480K660K

Sales Executive/Sales Engineer

35

240K360K

Marketing/Communications Director 

1015

800K1.3M

Product Marketing Manager

810

650K800K

Product Marketing Engineer

35

240K360K

Marketing Manager 

68

500K800K

Marketing Executive

35

250K420K


Retail

Head of Marketing 

15+ 

1M1.5M

Marketing Manager 

10+ 

650K910K

Assistant Marketing Manager 

5

360K480K

Marketing Executive 

1

144K240K

Senior Brand Manager 

610+

650K910K

Brand Manager 

46

420K540K

PR Manager 

5

360K650K

Assistant PR Manager 

3

300K364K

Merchandising / Buyer Manager 

8+ 

585K910K

Digital Marketing Director

1015

1M1.5M

Digital Marketing Manager 

6+

480K720K

CRM Director 

1015

910K1.5M

CRM Manager 

8+ 

650K910K

Retail Operations Manager

8+

650K910K

Assistant Retail Operations Manager

68

480K600K

Area Manager

5+

420K520K

Store Manager 

3+

240K360K


Advertising Agency

Group Managing Director 

20+ 

1.5M2M+

Managing Director 

15+ 

1.2M1.5M

Business Director

12+ 

960K1.2M

Client Services Director 

12+ 

960K1.2M

Strategic Planning Director 

12+ 

850K1.2M

Group Account Director 

10+ 

720K850K

Account Director 

810

480K720K

Account Manager 

5+ 

300K420K


PR Agency

Managing Director 

20

1.5M+

Director / Group Account Director

15+ 

1M1.5M

Account Director 

810

550K780K

Account Manager 

5+ 

360K480K


Property & Real Estate

Head of Leasing

15+

1.2M+

Senior Leasing Manager

1215

800K1.2M

Leasing Manager

810

600K800K

Assistant Leasing Manager

68

420K600K

Senior Leasing Officer

35

300K420K

Head of Marketing/Communications 

15+

1.2M+

Marketing/Communications Director 

1215

900K1.1M

Senior Marketing/Communications Manager

1012

720K900K

Marketing/Communications Manager

810

480K720K

Assistant Marketing/Communications Manager

68

360K420K

Senior Marketing/Communications Officer 

35

300K360K

 

*Notes about salary report:

  1. Titles and levels vary from organisation to organisation.

  2. The salary ranges given are only approximate guides. For tailored salary advice, please contact us directly.

  3. 12-month base salaries are assumed.

  4. All other benefits and bonuses are in addition to these figures.

  5. Bonus ranges can vary significantly from company to company and will be influenced by market conditions, business and individual performances. Bonus ranges from 1 month at the low end to 100%+ at the upper.

  6. Holiday entitlements range from 1225 days with senior executives not usually receiving less than 18 days. Less than 15 is very rare and 20 days is becoming the norm.

  7. Healthcare policies are standard.

  8. Pension plans vary with some companies offering greater than the standard contribution. Top up schemes can increase employer contribution levels as much as 1520% of the base salary for senior executives.

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