Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. unybrands is a brand accelerator platform that acquires, integrates, and scales digital-first consumer brands. The Business Development Manager will own wholesale growth for a premium baby and layette brand by managing premium retail accounts, designing expansion programs, leading independent sales representatives, and coordinating cross-functionally to drive quality distribution and sell-through.
Responsibilities
- Own assigned premium accounts across department store, luxury specialty, better specialty chains, and high-productivity independent boutiques
- Build and maintain direct relationships with category buyers, planners, and merchandising leadership; prepare seasonal line reviews, assortment architecture, and presentation books
- Protect brand standards at retail: assortment depth vs. breadth, visual presentation, pricing integrity, and which doors are (and are not) a fit
- Monitor account-level velocity, inventory position, markdown risk, and service issues; intervene early with the retailer and internal ops
- Negotiate terms, seasonal programs, and co-op within approved guardrails; decline distribution that undermines premium positioning
- Design door-opening and in-store programs built for premium retail—not a one-size sell-in
- Build a 12–18 month expansion plan that sequences the right next accounts (heritage department, luxury specialty, top independents) rather than maximizing raw door count
- Create sell-in tools that match how premium buyers buy: look books, fabric/hand-feel stories, assortment grids, margin and turn scenarios, and visual merchandising guidance
- Lead partnership conversations from first meeting through executed vendor setup and first order, including item setup and any retailer-specific presentation requirements
- Represent the brand at relevant premium and juvenile markets and convert meetings into a qualified pipeline
- Maintain a documented pipeline with stages, next actions, and close dates; report weekly on activity and conversion quality
- Recruit, onboard, set goals for, and manage independent sales reps covering department, specialty, and independent boutique territories
- Prioritize reps with existing premium baby, layette, or better-specialty books
- Provide look books, samples, talking points, competitive context, and seasonal line training so reps can sell the brand at the right altitude
- Set clear activity and revenue expectations; run regular pipeline reviews; coach underperformers and reallocate coverage where doors or brand fit are weak
- Coordinate market and showroom appointments; keep reps aligned on pricing, minimums, exclusivity, and brand standards
- Resolve territory questions and protect house accounts; document commission structures and performance against plan
- Partner with supply chain on allocation, lead times, and service levels appropriate to premium retail (presentation quality, smaller drops, seasonal timing)
- Work with finance on forecasts, program ROI, and margin after retailer terms
- Collaborate with product and merchandising on capsules, colorways, pack architecture, and door-specific or exclusive assortments
- Align with marketing on look-book content, in-store storytelling, events, and retailer.com / editorial requirements
- Coordinate with compliance and quality on labeling, claims, CPSIA / tracking labels, packaging, and any department-store vendor requirements
- Serve as the internal voice of the premium buyer: translate feedback into product, presentation, and service changes
- Deliver rolling sales forecasts by account and style; flag inventory and production risk early
- Prepare weekly/monthly reporting: bookings vs. plan, ship vs. order, sell-through, returns, and pipeline quality
- Use retailer portals and available POS to diagnose performance and prioritize actions
- Own CRM hygiene for accounts, contacts, opportunities, and activity
Skills
- 5+ years in wholesale sales or business development for a premium or better brand, with a substantial portion in baby, juvenile, layette, infant apparel, or a closely adjacent premium category (nursery, home textiles, or designer kids)
- Demonstrated ownership of premium retail accounts: department store and/or luxury or better specialty. Comfort presenting at line review and building a seasonal assortment story
- Hands-on experience recruiting, managing, and holding accountable independent sales representatives who cover specialty and department doors
- Proven ability to design and sell programs - not only take replenishment orders - and to open doors that fit the brand
- Experience working cross-functionally with operations, inventory, finance, and compliance in a lean brand environment
- Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, merchandising, or related field, or equivalent career experience
- Active or recent relationships with baby / layette / kids buyers at premium department stores (Nordstrom and peers) or recognized luxury and better specialty accounts
- Experience taking a heritage or digitally native premium brand through a department-store line review cycle and landing a multi-door or expanded assortment
- A track record designing in-store programs that belong in premium retail: shop-in-shop or fixture programs, seasonal capsules, registry or gifting moments, trunk shows, or limited exclusives
- Independent-rep or showroom relationships already covering better specialty and department doors in baby, juvenile, or related home/textile categories
- Regular presence at ABC Kids Expo or equivalent juvenile / premium kids markets, with a professional network among buyers and independent reps
- Familiarity with department-store vendor mechanics (line-review cadence, planner partnership, portal reporting, presentation standards) without a mass-retail operating background as the primary experience
- Product fluency in premium textiles or layette (hand-feel, fiber stories, giftability, layette architecture) so conversations with buyers go beyond price and door count
- Experience rebuilding or tightening distribution after a brand has been over-placed—saying no to the wrong doors and trading up the account mix
- Comfort with CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, or equivalent) and simple forecast models in Excel; Retail Link or mass-portal expertise is not expected
- Hospital gift, luxury gifting, or specialty registry program experience as an adjacency to core wholesale
- Polished written and verbal communication; buyer-ready decks and disciplined follow-up
- Judgment to protect brand and margin while still closing the right doors
- Organized operator: can run a personal account book, a rep network, and internal workstreams without dropped balls
- Data-literate enough to use velocity, turn, and forecast variance to prioritize time
- Low-ego collaborator who owns problems that sit between sales, product, and ops
Company Overview