Oxford Product’s export director, Chris Shearer, is celebrating three decades of working at the clothing and accessories company. Shearer joined Oxford in June 1994 as a sales rep based in northern Germany, where he had been based as a bandmaster with the British Army. That was just two months after Oxford’s current sales director, David Kinnaird, joined – making Shearer the company’s second-longest-serving employee.
Selling bike kit was Shearer’s first civilian job, and the firm reckons his sharp musician’s intellect, combined with grit and determination from his days as a marathon runner helped create a formidable salesman. Add to this the entrepreneurial flair which had seen him running lucrative gigs all over Germany for cash, and he was soon vying for top spot in the firm’s sales charts.
Having topped those European sales charts, Shearer enjoyed a spell in sales management, clocking up massive mileages racing around Europe. This experience set him up perfectly for his next role as export manager before becoming export director in 2009. The ex-bandmaster has now masterminded Oxford’s export strategy for 25 years from his hideaway in Germany, getting the best from a global network of distributors across 75 countries. He and his team of four now bring in as much business every month as the entire company turned over annually when he joined.
Oxford’s chairman Alec Hammond said, “Chris Shearer has been instrumental in making Oxford the global brand it is today. With a minimal budget (an Oxford sticker on his car) but a huge heart, he has taken us to all corners of the globe and put millions of Oxford products into the hands of two-wheel enthusiasts. His career has been a long list of phenomenal achievements, the latest being to build a team of superstars who will take Oxford’s international business to another level over the next 30 years.”