Director, Wholesale Strategy & Business Development (Contract-to-Hire)

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 wholesale division from the ground up.
• 5–7+ years of direct, hands-on experience managing a high-volume brand on Amazon Vendor Central (1P)
• 3+ years directly managing complex, multi-million dollar Amazon Ads budgets.

Required Skills & Competencies

• Deep Industry Relationships: Must possess an active, robust network of established relationships with major retail buyers and retail executives across relevant sectors.
• Financial & Analytical Acumen: Expert-level capability in P&L management, financial forecasting, and cost-to-serve analysis. Strong fluency in digital marketing math (ROAS, TACOS, CVR, CPC) alongside standard corporate retail finance, such as wholesale margin structures and co-op allowances.
• Omnichannel Understanding: A strong grasp of how wholesale integrates into a broader omnichannel business, ensuring harmony between wholesale, brand retail stores, and e-commerce.
• Amazon Logistics Expertise: Practical knowledge of Vendor Central operational compliance, including EDI integrations, ASNs, packaging compliance (FFP/SIOC), and chargeback dispute mechanisms.
• Strategic Architect vs. Operator: Comfortable building a complex, numbers-driven business case for the executive leadership team just as much as picking up the phone to pitch a major retail buyer.
• Brand Protectionist: Ensures that both traditional wholesale and Amazon amplify Duluth’s legendary brand story, creating a win-win strategy that protects the brand without diluting it or causing channel conflict.
• Cross-Functional Diplomat: Capable of pivoting seamlessly between a creative marketing growth mindset and a rigid, execution-focused logistics mindset to guide internal cross-functional teams through complex new timelines and operational demands.
• Project Management & Timeline Rigor: You possess a meticulous approach to project architecture, translating complex, multi-phased strategies into clear, actionable roadmaps with precise deadlines, milestones, and contingency planning. 
• Geographic Flexibility: Ability to travel and work onsite near Madison, WI two weeks per month during the contract phase, and a willingness to permanently relocate to the Madison, WI area if the role converts to a regular, full-time position.
• Authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship. 

Role Structure & Conversion Terms:

This position is hired on a contract-to-hire basis, with potential conversion to a regular, full-time role based on business needs and performance outcomes.

• Relocation Requirement upon Conversion: In the event that this contract role is converted to a regular, full-time position, the employee will be required to relocate to the Madison, WI area to work onsite at headquarters Monday through Thursday, with Fridays remote. Relocation assistance would be provided by the company. 

• Compensation & Benefits Realignment: During the contract phase, the role is paid at a contract rate. In the event of conversion to a regular, full-time employee, the compensation structure will transition to a full-time base salary, and the individual will become eligible for standard company benefits along with company bonus and long term incentive programs. 

#LIONSITE

The responsibilities outlined in this position description are a guideline for the general duties of the position and are not exhaustive of all duties inherent in the job. Duluth Trading Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Started in 1989, Duluth Trading Company exists to enable hard-working individuals to take on life with their own two hands. Folks that revel in doing it the hard way and celebrate finding a better way. We seek talented individuals who share these beliefs and are excited to further the Duluth Trading legacy with a digital-first mindset, always moving forward and always innovating.

From ingenious Duluth workwear, to comfortably capable Buck Naked Underwear, to outside-embracing AKHG, it’s all about the innovative gear and gadgets that equip customers for a more hands-on way of life.

Top-notch quality, immersive storytelling, outstanding customer service, and the shared belief that the go-all-in-and-dig-deep spirit exists with everyone are what sets Duluth Trading Co. apart. We seek talented folks looking to be part of a can-do team that’s hellbent on helping the world to gear up, get its hands dirty, and do.