Wholesale Director

nuuds•Dallas, TX

About The Position

The Wholesale Director will lead nuuds’ wholesale growth, starting with its established Nordstrom relationship and expanding the brand’s presence there while building a pipeline of premium boutiques and additional major or digital retail partners. This is a high-ownership, foundational role responsible for account leadership, forecasting and sell-through discipline, wholesale operations, and compliance. The position begins as a hands-on, department-of-one role and is expected to grow into a team lead role, with a Wholesale Operations Specialist eventually taking on day-to-day compliance and fulfillment execution. The Wholesale Director will partner closely with the VP of Merchandising on milestone management, assortment and line planning, and translating merchandising strategy into a scalable wholesale channel.

Requirements

At least 7 years of wholesale sales and/or account management experience within apparel, including direct department-store or major-retailer experience.
Hands-on EDI and retailer-portal experience, with willingness to personally own data entry and compliance work for at least the first 6–12 months.
Full-cycle sales background, including ownership of relationships from cold outreach through account closing and onboarding.
Ability to travel as needed.
Confident, credible presence with retail buyers and senior stakeholders.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate account performance into clear recommendations for leadership.
Comfort operating without a team initially and escalating appropriately as the role grows.
Demonstrated inclusive leadership, customer-centricity, integrity, pursuit of excellence, action orientation, and data-driven decision-making.

Nice To Haves

Nordstrom experience.
Existing relationships with department-store or premium-boutique buyers.
Experience in fashion, apparel, or consumer brands, particularly in wholesale or department-store channels.
Familiarity with EDI systems such as SPS Commerce or similar.

Responsibilities

Serve as nuuds’ primary point of contact for the Nordstrom buying team and deepen the existing relationship.
Own the wholesale revenue P&L, volume forecasting, and margin targets for current and future accounts in collaboration with Planning and Merchandising.
Negotiate allowances, markdowns, and financial terms with buyers to maximize profitability while protecting brand margin.
Partner with retail partners on visual merchandising execution, product training, and in-store presentation strategies.
Represent nuuds at market weeks and buyer appointments, presenting seasonal lines and negotiating placement.
Build nuuds’ brand equity with the Nordstrom buying team as a dedicated in-house advocate.
Build and execute a pipeline of new wholesale accounts, including premium boutiques and additional major or digital retailers.
Own prospecting, pitching, and onboarding for new accounts from start to finish.
Evaluate account opportunities for brand fit, margin, and operational feasibility before bringing them to leadership.
Own end-to-end EDI transmissions (850 POs, 856 ASNs, and 810 invoices) and item setup, imagery, and attribute matching in retailer portals.
Track the PO lifecycle against production and shipping windows to avoid routing-guide violations and chargebacks.
Review and escalate chargeback and deduction disputes, and develop a process for managing them.
Work cross-functionally to adapt the DTC pipeline calendar and align design, merchandising, sampling, and production milestones with wholesale needs.
Partner with the VP of Merchandising on assortment and line planning so wholesale buys reflect account-specific performance and opportunity.
Coordinate with production and operations to confirm capacity, lead times, and shipping compliance ahead of key retail windows.
Flag account or compliance risks early and recommend a path forward.
Own recurring wholesale performance reporting, including sell-through, reorder health, and chargeback trends, for leadership.
Translate account and portal data into recommendations on reorder candidates, at-risk styles, and new-door opportunities.
Travel as needed.