Wholesale Director

Description

Footasylum is a leading UK-based retailer specialising in streetwear and sportswear, committed to delivering innovative and trend-setting products to our customers, with a strong focus on digital transformation and data-driven decision-making.

The Role

We are looking for a commercially driven, strategically minded Wholesale Director to lead and grow our global wholesale business. Operating at the centre of fashion, youth culture, and retail, this role will be responsible for developing and executing the wholesale strategy, expanding distribution, strengthening key partner relationships, and delivering sustainable revenue growth while protecting the integrity and desirability of the brand.

About You

You will be someone who embodies the Footasylum values - Collaboration, Communication & Challenge. You will be an expert in UK culture and a brand fanatic. You will combine strong commercial acumen with a deep understanding of youth culture, fashion trends, consumer behaviour, and the evolving retail landscape. You will work cross functionally with Sales, Product, Marketing, Operations and Finance to ensure best in class execution across all wholesale channels.
Key Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy & Business Growth

• Develop and execute the global wholesale strategy aligned to the brand's commercial objectives and long-term vision.

• Identify and secure new wholesale opportunities across key markets and territories.

• Drive sales growth, profitability, and market share through strategic account development.

• Build annual and seasonal sales plans, budgets, forecasts, and growth initiatives.

• Analyse market trends, competitor activity, consumer insights, and retail performance to identify opportunities and risks.

• Ensure wholesale distribution supports both commercial growth and brand positioning.

Account Management

• Lead relationships with key wholesale partners, department stores, specialist retailers, and strategic marketplace accounts.

• Negotiate commercial agreements, trading terms, pricing structures, and seasonal buys.

• Drive strong account performance through joint business planning and collaborative growth strategies.

• Maintain regular business reviews with key partners and senior stakeholders.

• Manage escalation and resolution of commercial issues.

Sales Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop the wholesale sales team to achieve ambitious sales targets.

• Establish clear KPIs and performance management frameworks.

• Foster a high-performance, collaborative culture focused on accountability and continuous improvement.

• Support succession planning and talent development within the team.

Brand & Distribution Management

• Ensure all wholesale partnerships align with brand values, positioning, and target consumer.

• Protect brand equity by maintaining appropriate distribution strategies and partner selection.

• Collaborate with Marketing and Brand teams to maximise visibility, sell-through, and consumer engagement.

• Champion a consumer-first and culture-led approach across all wholesale initiatives.

Product & Seasonal Planning

• Partner with Product, Design, and Merchandising teams to ensure wholesale assortments meet market demand.

• Provide customer, market, and channel insights to inform future collections and product strategy.

• Lead seasonal sell-in and account planning processes.

• Monitor sell-through performance and recommend actions to optimise inventory and sales.

Operational Excellence

• Work closely with Supply Chain and Operations teams to ensure effective order management and delivery performance.

• Drive improvements in forecasting accuracy, stock management, and operational efficiency.

• Ensure compliance with business processes, contractual obligations, and trading standards.

Financial Management

• Own wholesale revenue, margin, and profitability performance.

• Develop annual budgets and financial forecasts.

• Monitor performance against targets and implement corrective actions where necessary.

• Deliver regular reporting and presentations to executive leadership.

Skills/Experience

• Significant experience in a senior wholesale leadership role within fashion, lifestyle, footwear, streetwear, or youth culture brands.

• Proven track record of delivering substantial revenue growth through wholesale channels.

• Strong understanding of global retail, wholesale, and distribution networks.

• Experience managing major retail accounts and strategic partnerships.

• Excellent commercial negotiation and influencing skills.

• Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets, forecasts, and P&L performance.

• Experience leading and developing high-performing sales teams.

• Strong analytical and strategic thinking capabilities.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Desirable

• Experience working with international distributors and agents.

• Knowledge of omnichannel retail and digital wholesale platforms.

• Existing network within the fashion, streetwear, and youth culture retail landscape.

• Experience operating within a fast-growth consumer brand

Why Footasylum?

We are one of the leading omni-channel retailers across the UK, but more than that we are a brilliant place to work. We value you and your development. We have loads of examples of people moving upwards, across to other departments and given training to excel their personal and professional skills. Our aim is to create a fun environment, where your success is paramount to ours and you are given the right tools, support, and platform to achieve your goals.

Diversity

We recognise and value the importance of diversity to help make sure we have lots of different perspectives when we are building services to customers and the wider business. This is great news for our business. Diversity for us is also, importantly, about building happy teams full of people that want to learn and want to be inspired by each other and our different experiences and backgrounds.

Recruitment Process

We review applications on an individual basis, and if we feel you would be a good fit we’ll invite you for a call or Teams video for an informal chat about the role, and to see if we’re a good fit for you.

We value open and honest conversations and collaboration, giving you a chance to learn about what we are doing in an informal and friendly environment. We want to know about you and why you feel that this is the opportunity for you. Please note, this is not a remote role, and our expectation is that you will be able to attend Head Office/Studio in a hybrid way, in Greater Manchester.