Shein appoints ex-PLT buying director as chief product officer

Shein has recently appointed Gemma Dunne to the recently-created role of chief product officer, according to Drapers.

Formerly PrettyLittleThing buying director, Dunne left the job after 10 years with the company and is understood to have started her new role at Shein last month. 

Her fashion career began in 2013 as a senior buyer, before becoming buying manager in 2018, head of buying in 2020 and buying director in 2021. 

In her new role at Shein, she will be responsible for building a new brand within Shein, which is expected to launch in January 2024. 

In addition, she will be tasked with building a UK product team of around 15 staff in Manchester by early next year. 

Dunne’s appointment comes as Shein’s UK division made £1.12bn in sales for the 16-month period ended in December 2022, with profits of £12.2m.

Speaking to Drapers, Dunne said: “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.

“I am very passionate about the industry and joining Shein as a market leader creates opportunity for me personally but also professionally. I am excited to bring my experience to an already global phenomenal success story and see what magic we can create.”