Jack Wills eyes wholesale expansion with new appointment

Jack Wills has appointed former Superdry head of international business development Greg Roberts to head up its new wholesale strategy both in the UK and internationally. The new appointment marks the first time the British brand has embarked on a specific wholesale strategy.

In his new role as wholesale director Roberts will be responsible for building on the existing UK wholesale business, developing wholesale in Europe with a particular focus on Northern Europe and Scandinavia, and expanding the brand's wholesale presence outside of Europe, particularly across Asia. Jack Wills already has a significant wholesale business in North America and the Middle East.

Jack Wills CEO and founder Peter Williams described the appointment as "a very exciting moment and the beginning of a significant new chapter in the life of Jack Wills".

"We have never before had the resource, investment or scale to do this and it has been the missing piece of the jigsaw. 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," Williams said.

Roberts added: "A business like Jack Wills, which has such a clear brand proposition and where the founder is running the business, is a rare find in retail and this was one of the major reasons why I was so attracted to joining the business. Having a strong story behind a brand and its history is crucial when talking to third parties and potential partners in the UK and overseas and Jack Wills' story is not only interesting but easy to communicate globally."

"There are some great building blocks in place from which to develop the wholesale strategy, including building on the fantastic brand awareness and presence which Jack Wills has in key markets like the US. I am looking forward to getting started and showing meaningful results as we unveil new relationships in the UK and oversea," Roberts said.

The appointment of Roberts 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). It also follows on from Jack Wills' 2016 financial results in which it reported sales growth of 4% to £142.4m (2016: £137.4m) with group EBITDA increasing to £12m at constant exchange rates.

Roberts joined Superdry owner SuperGroup in 2011 and prior to that had spend 13 years with Ringsun, a denim and clothing brand he had co-founded.