Shein has hired former PrettyLittleThing buying director Gemma Dunne as its first ever chief product officer.
Dunne, who joined the business last month, is tasked with building a new brand on Shein that is inspired by UK-based trends, Drapers reported.
The first collection is set to launch online worldwide in January 2024.
In her new role, she will also help the Chinese-based fashion giant, which employs 40 people in its London office, grow a Manchester-based team of around 15 staff by the start of next year.
Dunne joins from PrettyLittleThing where she spent the last 10 years in its buying department, first as a senior buyer in 2013 before becoming buying manager in 2018, head of buying in 2020 and then promoted to buying director in 2021.
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Dunne told Drapers: “I am super excited to be joining Shein who are leading the fashion ecommerce sector – building a UK product team will allow Shein to have a localised focus on UK, Europe and US in terms of trend forecasting and localised product creation which will allow the business to elevate these markets even further.
“The industry is ever evolving and I personally feel you have to keep moving your focus and direction in order to stay relevant and to keep up with customer demand but also in order to progress and evolve as an individual.
Dunne’s appointment comes as Shein’s UK business made a pre-tax profit of £12.2m in the 16 months to 31 December 2022, with sales surpassing the £1bn mark.
The fast fashion giant has been upping its fashion credentials as of late, with the acquisition of Missguided and its new clothing collection with Forever 21.
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