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Hire your wholesale sales lead before you take retail meetings, so terms get set with full cost visibility.
90-day
planning cycle
20-30
target accounts and models margin at different wholesale discounts—standard…
50%
off retail
$5,000 to $8,000
in fractional consulting fees for 90 days
Solbari, a Melbourne-founded UPF 50+ sun-protection apparel brand, appointed Grayson Davis as Head of Sales to lead U.S. wholesale expansion, according to Business Wire. The sequence matters: hire the sales leader, then open the wholesale channel. Most direct-to-consumer brands flip it—chase retail doors, then scramble to hire someone to manage them.
Solbari named Davis to the role before fully launching into U.S. specialty retail. The brand has been selling UPF 50+ certified sun-safe clothing direct to consumer from Australia. The wholesale move targets U.S. specialty retail as demand for daily sun-protection apparel grows domestically. By putting sales leadership in place first, Solbari built the distribution engine before committing inventory and terms to retail accounts.
The mechanism: a dedicated sales head structures the wholesale strategy before the first order ships. Davis can set minimum order quantities, payment terms, markdown policies, and co-op advertising requirements that protect margin. He can map accounts by region and prioritize doors that match Solbari's customer—outdoor retail, dermatology practice retail shelves, resort boutiques—before inventory allocates to the wrong channel. A sales leader in seat means the brand negotiates from a position of strategic intent, not desperation to move stock.
Most physical-product brands enter wholesale backward. They take a large retailer meeting, commit to a buy, then hire account managers to service the relationship after the deal is signed. That compresses margin, because the founder negotiated terms without understanding wholesale cost structure. By the time a sales professional arrives, the brand is locked into unprofitable buys, forced markdowns, or return clauses that erase contribution margin. Solbari reversed that. The sales hire precedes the national rollout, meaning terms get set with full visibility into the economics.
The steal for a smaller physical-product brand: hire or contract your first wholesale sales lead before you take the first retail meeting. If you cannot afford a full-time Head of Sales, bring on a fractional sales consultant or independent retail broker who works your category. Pay them a retainer plus commission, but get them in place while you are still direct-to-consumer only. Their job is to build the target account list, draft the line sheet, model the unit economics at different order minimums, and set the guard rails: payment terms, co-op budgets, return policies, seasonal dating.
Run a 90-day planning cycle. Month one: the sales lead maps 20-30 target accounts and models margin at different wholesale discounts—standard keystone, 50% off retail, versus deeper promotional buys. Month two: build the sell-sheet, sample kit, and term sheet. The sales lead writes the minimums and the net terms, not you. Month three: the lead takes the first five meetings, tests messaging, and refines the pitch. You do not sign a retail agreement until the sales lead has seen the buyer's response to your pricing and your product positioning. This costs roughly $5,000 to $8,000 in fractional consulting fees for 90 days, but it prevents the $40,000 mistake of entering wholesale with terms you cannot service.
Solbari's move shows the principle: distribution is a sales function, not a marketing one. The brand that builds the sales structure first controls the terms. The brand that chases the door first gets controlled by them.
Contract a fractional sales lead for 90 days to model wholesale economics and write term sheets before your first buyer meeting.
For the operator
Appoint your Head of Sales six months before national retail launch so account targeting and margin guardrails lock in early.
For the house
Prioritize vendors with dedicated sales leadership already in place—they will honor terms and manage inventory accountability better than founder-sold brands.
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