Wholesale Manager

A family-owned Italian luxury shoemaker

The opportunity

We are representing a family-owned Italian shoemaker whose workshops have been turning out hand-lasted footwear for three generations, in the quiet Riviera del Brenta tradition where a single pair can pass through dozens of hands before it is boxed. The house has built a devoted following among American specialty and department-store buyers, and it is now investing seriously in its U.S. wholesale business — which is where this role comes in.

This is the person who owns the American wholesale book. You will carry the collection into market each season, sit across the table from the country's most discerning buyers, and make sure the brand shows up in the right doors, at the right depth, with the sell-through to justify the next order. It is equal parts relationship, negotiation and cool-headed analysis of what is actually selling.

What you will be responsible for

• Own and grow the U.S. wholesale account base across luxury department stores, specialty retailers and key independents
• Run the showroom during market weeks — line presentations, buys, order-writing and follow-through
• Track sell-through by door and by style, and use it to shape re-orders, swaps and next season's buy
• Protect the brand's distribution: the right doors, the right adjacencies, no over-exposure
• Partner with the Italian head office on forecasting, delivery and seasonal strategy

What we are looking for

• A relationship-builder who is also, unapologetically, a closer
• Someone who knows the U.S. luxury wholesale landscape from the inside — the buyers, the calendar, the politics of a market week
• Able to read a sell-through report the way others read a menu
• Protective of a brand's positioning rather than chasing volume for its own sake
• Footwear or leather-goods background strongly preferred; spoken Italian is a gift, not a requirement

What the opportunity offers

• A rare chance to build a heritage house's U.S. wholesale presence with real ownership
• Competitive base salary and bonus
• A direct line to a founding family that still cares about every pair