Jack Wills has raided SuperGroup’s ranks to hire Greg Roberts to take on the newly-created role of wholesale director.
The appointment marks the first time the British retailer has embarked on a specific wholesale expansion strategy to grow its wholesale business in the UK and internationally.
Roberts joins from SuperGroup, where he has been head of international business development since May 2011. There, he was responsible for globalising the company’s SuperDry brand through franchise and licence agreements.
He wwill join Jack Wills in November and will report directly to chief executive and founder Peter Williams.
READ MORE: Jack Wills hires new merchandising director
Roberts will be responsible for building Jack Wills’ existing wholesale business in the UK, launching the brand’s wholesale business in Europe, and launching its wholesale business internationally beyond Europe – including further expansion across Asia.
Williams said the company never had the resources to focus on wholesale and hiring Roberts for the new wholesale director role was the “missing piece of the jigsaw”.
“This is a very exciting moment and the beginning of a significant new chapter in the life of Jack Wills,” Williams said.
“We currently have a wholesale business with a small number of retailers in the UK. By hiring Greg, we can now begin a targeted and sophisticated strategy to build the wholesale business at home in the UK and in important markets overseas.
“This will significantly grow our sales and international footprint, and increase the awareness and presence of the brand globally.
He added: “In order to build on our growth and success to date and take us to the next level we need to meaningfully develop this side of the business to properly grow our sales, profit and margin.
“Greg is one of the best in the industry and I am absolutely delighted that he will be joining us to take on responsibility for making this new project a huge success.”
Roberts’ appointment comes after Jack Wills appointed Claire Waugh as chief marketing officer from Burberry and Mike Doyle joined as chief financial officer from Good Hair Day (ghd).
Jack Wills also recently hired David Wertheim to be its new merchandising director.
Jack Wills’ 2016 financial results saw it record sales growth of four per cent to £142.4 million with group EBITDA increasing to £12 million at constant exchange rates.
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