# Solbari Hires Dedicated U.S. Sales Lead to Break Into Wholesale — After Eight Years Direct-to-Consumer *The Australian UPF 50+ brand waited until it had defensible certification before pitching retail doors.* 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-2026-06-28t12-2 Subject: Solbari Tags: wholesale, distribution, certification, specialty retail, sun protection, b2b sales --- Solbari, the Melbourne-founded sun-protection apparel brand, hired Grayson Davis as Head of Sales to lead its first U.S. wholesale push, according to Business Wire. The company has sold UPF 50+ certified clothing direct-to-consumer since 2015. The wholesale play comes now because the brand finally has what retail buyers demand: third-party certification that survives consumer scrutiny. The move is a distribution shift, not a product launch. Solbari is entering specialty retail with the same garments it has sold online for years — swimwear, activewear, daily basics — all rated UPF 50+ by the ARPANSA, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. The hiring of a dedicated sales lead signals the company is staffing up to service wholesale accounts, not just chasing one-off placements. Why wholesale now instead of in year two? Because certified sun-protection apparel is a compliance category, and compliance categories move slower into retail. A buyer at a specialty outdoor or dermatology clinic gift shop will not stock a product that triggers returns or complaints. UPF claims require lab testing, labeling integrity, and washability data. Solbari spent the direct-to-consumer years building a track record — customer reviews, repeat purchase rates, zero legal noise — that a retail buyer can verify before signing a PO. The brand also benefits from timing: consumer awareness of daily UV exposure has risen sharply in the past three years, driven by dermatologists on social platforms and rising melanoma incidence data. The mechanic other physical-product brands can steal is the sequencing. Solbari did not lead with wholesale. It built a defensible direct channel first, accumulated proof, then hired a sales lead to carry that proof into doors. The proof is not marketing copy. It is **third-party certification**, **documented repeat purchase behavior**, and **zero product liability history**. A buyer at a specialty retailer evaluates those three data points before shelf space. Here is the steal for a small brand with a physical product that makes a performance or safety claim. First, secure third-party certification or testing from a recognized body in your category — not a logo you bought, but a lab report a buyer can verify. If your product is GOTS organic, OEKO-TEX certified, NSF tested, ASTM compliant, get the documentation and keep it updated. Second, sell direct for at least **12 to 18 months** and track your return rate, repeat purchase rate, and customer service ticket volume. A buyer will ask for this data. Third, when your return rate is under **3 percent** and your repeat rate is above **20 percent**, write a one-page sell sheet with those numbers, your certification, and a photo of your product in use. Fourth, hire a part-time sales lead or a commission-based rep who already calls on the retail category you are targeting. Pay them **10 to 15 percent** of wholesale revenue, not a salary, until you hit **$50,000** in wholesale orders per quarter. Fifth, give that rep a sample kit, the sell sheet, and a list of **30 to 50 stores** in your target channel. They will close **3 to 8** of those in the first six months if your product and pricing are correct. The broader pattern: brands that make performance or safety claims earn retail distribution by proving the claim in a direct channel first, then bringing the proof to a buyer. The hire is the signal that the proof is ready. ## The takeaway Build proof direct for 12-18 months, get third-party certification, then hire a commission rep with a sell sheet and your repeat-purchase data. --- ## 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