Director, Wholesale Strategy & Business Development

Position Overview

Duluth Trading Co. is a highly successful omnichannel business, leveraging a robust direct-to-consumer digital platform alongside a strong retail footprint. As we explore new horizons for growth, we are seeking a visionary and highly analytical Director of Wholesale Strategy & Business Development on a contract-to-hire basis. In this role, you will immediately own and optimize our existing 1P Amazon business while evaluating and designing our broader wholesale entry strategy.

Depending on individual performance, deliverable outcomes, and evolving business needs, this contract role may offer the potential to transition into a regular, full-time position, though conversion is not guaranteed.

We need a true wholesale expert who possesses deep industry relationships and the strategic horsepower to build the wholesale roadmap for Duluth. You will immediately drive profitable revenue growth and manage the Amazon ecosystem and lay out the definitive blueprint of what it will take for us to more broadly enter wholesale; including the timeline, the Go-To-Market calendar, the operational infrastructure required, and the multi-year financial potential.

Work Location & Travel:

At Duluth Trading Company, we value face-to-face interactions that foster our culture of learning, creativity, and teamwork. This position follows a hybrid, bi-weekly travel schedule. The selected candidate must work onsite at our headquarters near Madison, WI for two weeks per month (Monday through Thursday), working from their home office on Fridays. The remaining two weeks of the month are fully remote.

Travel and lodging expenses for the required onsite weeks will be covered by the company.

What You’ll Do:

Immediate Amazon Management & Scaling

• Strategic Negotiations & Account Management:
  Instantly take ownership of the holistic P&L for the Amazon 1P channel, balancing top-line media-driven growth against bottom-line profitability. Lead the Annual Vendor Negotiation (AVN) process, defending wholesale margins against Amazon's aggressive targets for MDF, damage allowances, and freight terms.
• Full-Funnel Advertising:
  Own the strategy, execution, and optimization of all Amazon paid acquisition campaigns (Sponsored Products, Brands, Display, and Video). Set clear ad spend targets, architect keyword bidding strategies, and optimize against core performance indicators like ROAS, ACOS, and TACOS.
• Catalog & Inventory Alignment:
  Connect advertising push-periods with physical inventory realities, heavily funneling ad dollars into high-margin, high-stock items while pausing campaigns on low-stock items to protect buy-box health.
• Chargeback Elimination:
  Partner with internal supply chain teams to audit operational compliance and permanently eliminate margin-eroding chargebacks.

Simultaneous Wholesale Blueprinting & Strategy

• Viability Assessment & Financial Modeling:
  Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the wholesale landscape to determine target partners that align with Duluth’s brand equity. Develop a rigorous, standalone wholesale P&L model that maps out margins, chargebacks, markdown structures, shipping terms, and overall revenue potential.
• Infrastructure & GTM Architecture:
  Identify the operational requirements necessary to support wholesale (EDI compliance, ticketing/labeling, logistics) without disrupting existing DTC and retail operations. Establish a comprehensive Go-To-Market calendar, mapping the lifecycle from product design to retail delivery.
• Relationship Leveraging & Pilot Execution:
  Utilize deep, pre-existing relationships with major retailers to gather market feedback, secure initial presentations, and launch tightly managed pilot programs to validate the model before a broader national rollout.

What We’re Looking For:

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Merchandising, Business, Marketing, or equivalent corporate experience

Years of Experience

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience
• 5+ years specifically in a senior wholesale strategy or business development role within the Outdoor, Workwear, Corporate Apparel, or National Specialty Retail sectors, including proven experience in architecting a…