Dive Brief:
- Online fashion reseller Depop last week officially named Peter Semple its Chief Executive Officer, effective this Friday, according to a company release sent to Retail Dive.
- Semple has been the retailer’s interim CEO since May when he stepped into the vacated role last held by Kruti Patel Goyal, who became president and chief growth officer of parent Etsy Inc.
- Semple, who joined Depop in 2019, was previously the company’s chief marketing officer.
Dive Insight:
After holding the role on an interim basis for nearly three months, Semple is officially taking the helm at Depop.
“As a leading resale platform, Depop is at the heart of the circular fashion movement and has seen remarkable momentum in recent years,” Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said in a statement. “During Peter’s time as Interim Chief Executive Officer, he demonstrated not only a proven ability to lead and inspire teams, but showed his dedication to the Depop mission and its community. He brings a strong understanding of Depop’s position in culture and resale and we couldn’t be more confident in his vision for the future.”
Semple’s appointment follows other C-suite changes at Etsy. Rafe Colburn earlier this year left his position as chief technology and product officer at Depop to take on a similar role with Etsy. Other leadership changes have included the departure of Etsy Chief Operating and Marketing Officer Raina Moskowitz and the appointment of Lanny Baker as CFO. Brad Minor took over Moskowitz’s duties after serving as chief brand officer of Etsy.
Etsy in its most recent quarter reported Q1 revenue inched up 0.8% year over year to $651.2 million, while gross merchandise sales were down 6.5%. The company also swung into the red, reporting a net loss of $52 million from a net income of $63 million in the year-ago period, largely due to the sale of its Reverb Holdings division. The company said Depop showed strong top-line growth, particularly in the U.S., and that its gross merchandise sales were “the highest it has been since the business was acquired in 2021.”
