# Solbari hired a U.S. sales head to run wholesale after 8 years DTC-only *The Australian sun-protection brand is entering specialty retail with a dedicated sales lead—a playbook any margin-healthy DTC brand can copy.* By **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA, Principal** — The Stash Edge, Hako Shikin LLC. Published 2026-06-28. Canonical: https://www.pops4.com/stash/articles/solbari-2026-06-28t06-2 Subject: Solbari Tags: wholesale expansion, dtc to retail, sales hiring, channel strategy, specialty retail, upf apparel --- Solbari, the Melbourne-founded UPF 50+ sun-protection apparel brand, appointed Grayson Davis as head of sales to lead its U.S. wholesale expansion after spending eight years selling direct-to-consumer, according to Business Wire. The move signals a documented shift: a niche physical-product brand that built margin and proof at home is now pressing into U.S. retail with a dedicated sales operator rather than scattering across every possible channel. The brand manufactures UPF 50+ certified clothing and accessories designed for daily sun safety. Solbari's expansion targets specialty retail channels in the U.S., not mass market. The hire of a dedicated sales head—rather than a fractional consultant or the founder wearing another hat—indicates the brand is funding distribution as a discrete function with its own budget line and accountability. This works because the brand already solved the hardest problem: it proved the product at margin through DTC. Wholesale is expensive. Retailers take **40 to 60 percent** of the retail price, terms often include consignment or net-60 payment, and co-op marketing costs another **2 to 5 percent** of gross sales. A brand that hasn't proven unit economics and repeat rate in DTC will bleed out in 90 days. Solbari spent years building a customer file, refining SKU performance, and learning which products move without heavy discounting. That data becomes the ammunition a sales lead uses to walk into a buyer meeting with velocity proof and reorder confidence. The retailer isn't betting on a concept; they're betting on documented sellthrough. The mechanism is structuring wholesale as a distinct P&L with its own headcount. Most small brands treat wholesale as a side channel—founder does the outreach, fulfillment is an afterthought, terms are negotiated deal by deal. That approach caps out at three or four doors because the founder runs out of hours. Solbari hired a sales head, which means someone wakes up every day with one job: open doors, manage terms, monitor sellthrough, and renegotiate when a door underperforms. It also means the brand can build a wholesale playbook—standard terms, minimum order quantities, lead times, and markdown policies—that scales beyond the founder's Rolodex. A small physical-product brand runs the same play on a compressed budget. First, prove the product works in DTC. Run it for **12 to 18 months** until you know your hero SKUs, your repeat rate, and your contribution margin after shipping and returns. If contribution margin is below **30 percent**, wholesale will kill you. Second, hire a fractional sales lead on commission—**10 to 15 percent** of net wholesale revenue with a **$2,000 to $3,000** monthly retainer. Structure the contract with clear targets: **five doors** in 90 days, sellthrough data every 30 days, renegotiation rights if a door doesn't reorder. Third, build a one-page wholesale term sheet before the first meeting. Include minimum opening order (**$1,000 to $2,500**), payment terms (net-30, no consignment), co-op cap (**3 percent** of gross), and your restocking policy. The term sheet signals you run wholesale as a business, not a favor. Fourth, give the sales lead a sample kit and a sellthrough deck. The deck shows DTC velocity for each SKU, customer acquisition cost, repeat rate, and average order value. Buyers want proof the product moves; your DTC data is that proof. The Solbari move also highlights timing. The brand didn't rush wholesale in year one when it was still learning product-market fit. It waited until it had margin, proof, and capital to hire a dedicated operator. That discipline is the difference between wholesale as a growth channel and wholesale as a cash burn that distracts from DTC. If your DTC channel is still losing money or your repeat rate is below **20 percent**, fix that first. Wholesale won't save a broken product. But if you've built a margin-healthy DTC base and your product has reorder velocity, a dedicated sales lead—even fractional—turns retail from a distraction into a second P&L that funds itself in six months. ## The takeaway Hire a sales lead and build wholesale terms after you prove DTC margin—wholesale scales when it's a separate P&L, not a side project. --- ## Publisher **Hako Shikin LLC** — Virginia Beach, Virginia. Founded 1997. ASI 217876 · DUNS 18-204-6339. Principal and author: **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA**. - Author: https://www.huanggoodman.com/about - LLM context: https://www.pops4.com/stash/llms.txt - MCP endpoint, for AI agents: https://mcp.pops4.com/mcp - Client dashboard: https://dashboard.pops4.com/ - Catalogue: 70,000+ products, 200+ brands