Senior Wholesale Lead (Hiring Immediately) in London

For over 40 million people in the UK, spectacles are the first thing reached for in the morning, and the last thing taken off at night. Even the overworked smartphone can’t seize pole position. But the optical industry hasn’t changed in over three centuries. Products are tired, standards are poor, and glasses wearers have got used to sub-standard experiences. We’re changing that. Cubitts is now a decade old, with 20 beautiful stores and over 250,000 customers. We’ve built an omnichannel business grounded in craft, curiosity, and care, selling directly through our stores and international website.

Now we believe there’s a huge opportunity to build a brilliant wholesale business: working closely with like-minded retailers around the world, taking Cubitts to new audiences without ever compromising on product, brand, or experience. To make that happen, we’re creating a new role — and a new team around it.

The role

As Senior Wholesale Lead, you will have end-to-end ownership of the Cubitts wholesale business: strategy, growth and partner performance. Wholesale is currently £0.5m in annual sales across 15 doors. Over the next two years, our ambition is clear: grow the channel by +300% and establish Cubitts as a standout wholesale brand globally. This role is for someone who can build a channel like a business, setting direction, opening the right doors, and turning relationships into long-term growth.

What you’ll do

• Build a world-class partner network
• Identify and win partnerships with the most innovative, brand-sensitive retailers in our priority markets (US, Japan, Australia, and beyond).
• Own the full new-business funnel: prospecting → pitching → negotiation → onboarding → first reorder.
• Ensure every new door is a strategic fit for Cubitts in brand, quality, and customer experience.
• Deliver ambitious, profitable growth
• Drive +50% year-on-year revenue growth, delivering a +300% lift over two years.
• Open ~20 high-quality doors per year in target markets, with clear range and revenue expectations per account.
• Build a predictable commercial rhythm: seasonal sell-ins, reorder cycles, and trading plans.
• Set and evolve the wholesale strategy
• Work with the Leadership Team to set a multi-year wholesale strategy, including market prioritisation, pricing architecture, and distribution model.
• Own budgets, forecasting, and resource planning to deliver the strategy.
• Use market insight to influence product, supply, and brand decisions.
• Lead agents, distributors & expansion
• Recruit, onboard, and manage a small, dedicated network of agents and distributors across Asia, Europe, and Canada.
• Set targets, ways of working, training standards, and brand guardrails for every external partner.
• Ensure a consistent Cubitts experience in every market.
• Grow and deepen existing accounts
• Personally manage key partners to drive sell-through, reorder frequency, and category growth.
• Support with product training, merchandising guidance, and launch storytelling.
• Build long-term, collaborative relationships rooted in trust and performance.
• Partnerships, collaborations & private label
• Originate and deliver exciting wholesale-led collaborations and private label opportunities.
• Work closely with Brand and Design to create products that feel culturally relevant and commercially strong, building on collaborations like YMC, Mr P, Niwaki, Oliver Spencer, and TOAST.
• Own visibility and performance reporting
• Report on trading, pipeline, forecasts, and risks to the Management Team and Board.
• Establish best-in-class wholesale reporting and insights across the business.
• Use data to make decisions quickly and clearly.

Requirements

Who you are

• You have 3+ years’ experience growing wholesale, ideally in premium consumer goods, fashion/lifestyle, or optical.
• You’ve scaled a channel meaningfully before, not just opened doors, but grown them into profitable accounts.
• You are as comfortable setting strategy as you are doing the work: calling doors, travelling, pitching, and closing.
• You have excellent commercial instincts, pricing, margins, mix, forecasting, and negotiation.
• You’re a natural relationship builder: credible, warm, persistent, and deeply collaborative.
• You understand brand. You choose doors with taste and conviction, and protect the product’s value in every market.
• You are organised and self-directed, with a track record of owning targets and hitting them.