Secret Sales hires elite senior leadership team to drive global expansion
Secret Sales has bolstered its senior management team through the creation of six director-level positions.
The move is designed to drive rapid growth as the company expands both its domestic and international operations and looks to become the largest non-full price marketplace for fashion and beauty worldwide.
In a first appointment, Shahnila Rashid has joined Secret Sales as chief trading officer. With a track record in scaling businesses, she previously spent nine years at TJX as vice president and merchandising director where she had a fundamental role in expanding TK Maxx across Europe. This included launching TKMaxx.com and introducing the Homesense brand. Prior to that, she worked as advisor to the chief executive of VIP.com where she helped the Chinese discount ecommerce giant develop into a multichannel organisation with revenues exceeding $15 billion.
In addition, former Debenhams digital and trading director Fiona Lay has been appointed as Secret Sales’ digital director. Lay previously spent 17 years at Debenhams where she oversaw its transition into online shopping. Her career also includes a stint as senior merchandiser at Marks & Spencer.
Secret Sales has also recruited Sarah Savva as external relationships director. Savva’s former roles include working as business lead for third party brands at Marks & Spencer where she focused on building the retailer’s new strategy of introducing third party fashion brands online. Prior to that, she spent 29 years at Debenhams where her most recent position was director of external business.
In a further appointment, seasoned retail expert Cathy Reid will be joining the company as customer excellence director in October. Reid has been working as head of customer experience at Mountain Warehouse since July 2020 and is a former customer director at Ann Summers and head of retail and store operations at Mamas and Papas.
Meanwhile, Lucy Malcolm Green has been appointed as head of digital merchandising. Green previously held the position of team leader for digital merchandising at Mytheresa.com where she was responsible for merchandising strategy across all European and worldwide websites. Prior to that, she worked at ecommerce trader at Pandora and also held the roles of online merchandiser for womenswear and shoes at Harrods, and retail planning analyst at Ralph Lauren.
The final appointment has seen Stacey Sue join the company as finance director after working with luxury brand Lulu Guinness in the same role and with Matches Fashion as financial controller.
Chris Griffin, chief executive of Secret Sales, said: “We have appointed a super group of retail stars whose collective experience has helped shape the industry, from the early years of digital transformation to today’s online-first world. Our new hires recognise how powerful our business model is – brands and retailers need a brand enhancing partnership route for non full price stock, and Secret Sales is revolutionising the fashion industry by providing this platform. The calibre of our team will enable us to fulfil our promise to grow and become the dominant player in the premium discount space.”
Alongside the new senior management team, Secret Sales has recruited 20 additional staff members to support all departments across the business. The company is due to launch in a number of new territories this autumn.
