Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Rumored is hiring a Sales Director to own and grow its wholesale channel, including new business development, key retailer relationships, forecasting, team leadership, and operations. The role will build the wholesale function and develop a profitable, brand-aligned distribution strategy in partnership with company leadership and cross-functional teams.
Responsibilities
- Build and maintain a qualified pipeline of prospective major retailers, specialty boutiques, rental platforms, and strategic partners
- Lead outreach, presentations, negotiations, and onboarding for new accounts
- Use existing industry relationships and market knowledge to accelerate account acquisition
- Evaluate opportunities based on revenue potential, brand alignment, margin profile, inventory requirements, and operational feasibility
- Represent Rumored at relevant trade shows, market weeks, and industry events
- Set the annual and seasonal wholesale strategy, revenue plan, and channel priorities
- Develop account-level growth plans across existing and prospective partners
- Balance near-term revenue growth with margin health, brand positioning, inventory capacity, and long-term account value
- Serve as the wholesale voice in leadership discussions and proactively communicate risks, opportunities, and recommendations
- Own relationships with key wholesale partners and serve as Rumored's senior point of contact for the channel
- Lead seasonal sell-ins, market appointments, collection presentations, and business reviews
- Present each collection with a strong command of its product story, design intent, vintage references, fit, fabric, and customer
- Build trusted relationships with buyers, merchants, and planning teams
- Negotiate pricing, margins, markdown support, commercial terms, and account agreements in partnership with leadership
- Act as the primary escalation point for major retail accounts
- Own wholesale forecasting by account, style, category, and delivery window
- Partner with Planning, Production, and Finance to align inventory investments with confirmed and expected demand
- Analyze sell-through, inventory productivity, returns, reorder opportunities, and account performance
- Identify risks and opportunities early, recommend action, and improve forecast accuracy over time
- Evaluate and strengthen Rumored's existing wholesale reporting, then build any missing dashboards and decision tools required to manage the channel
- Establish clear KPIs across revenue, sell-through, inventory productivity, reorder rates, margin, and account health
- Lead a reliable weekly, monthly, and quarterly business-review cadence
- Translate retailer and sell-through insights into clear product, inventory, and commercial recommendations
- Build scalable systems, standard operating procedures, and working rhythms for the wholesale function
- Own wholesale systems and infrastructure, including NuORDER and relevant forecasting and reporting tools
- Ensure accurate order management from sell-in through delivery
- Oversee retailer compliance, routing guides, EDI, labeling, and operational execution in partnership with Operations and Finance
- Build and lead Rumored's wholesale department, starting with the Senior Wholesale Manager and East Coast Account Representative and recruiting and developing territory representatives as the business grows
- Operate as a player-coach, balancing strategic leadership with hands-on ownership of priority accounts and initiatives
- Set clear goals, KPIs, roles, and accountability across the wholesale team
- Coach the team on retailer management, forecasting, planning, negotiation, and wholesale best practices, while assessing future hiring needs as the business grows
Skills
- 8+ years in wholesale sales within contemporary women's fashion, apparel, or a premium consumer brand
- 8+ years of relevant wholesale sales experience within contemporary women's fashion, apparel, or a premium consumer brand
- Demonstrated ownership of a growing, multi-million-dollar wholesale business and a strong record of winning new accounts
- Established relationships with retailers such as Revolve / FWRD, Shopbop, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Moda Operandi, Nuuly, Anthropologie, Net-a-Porter, or comparable partners
- Strong product sensibility and the ability to communicate a collection's story with clarity and conviction
- Strong understanding of retail math, forecasting, inventory planning, sell-through, margin management, and account profitability
- Experience building, leading, and developing high-performing wholesale sales teams, including territory representatives
- Strong analytical, reporting, communication, presentation, and negotiation skills
- The ability to operate strategically and tactically, including a willingness to build systems and personally execute the work
- Experience building wholesale processes and infrastructure within a growing brand, including familiarity with NuORDER, EDI, and retailer compliance
- Experience partnering directly with an executive leadership team
- International distribution experience
Benefits
- A fully remote team, based in the U.S.
- Annual performance bonus opportunity of up to 10%, tied to pre-agreed wholesale growth and key business goals
- Equity participation
- Health, dental, and vision stipend
- Generous PTO policy
- 50% off employee discount plus 2 free products per month
- Summer Fridays
Company Overview