Trove appoints new president and chief operating officer

Resale company Trove has appointed former L’Oréal and Google executive Gayle Tait as its new president and chief operating officer to help accelerate its growth.

Trove, which powers circular shopping for brands, including Levi’s, Patagonia, Eileen Fisher and Arc’teryx, confirmed the appointment following an impressive 2020, with the second half of last year recording more than 180 percent year-over-year sales growth.

Tait joins from Google, where she served as senior director, global retail and payments activation, for Google Play, overseeing the division’s multibillion-dollar prepaid card business and payments partnerships with global 500 retailers, carriers and e-wallet providers.

Prior to Google, Tait spent nearly 15 years with L’Oréal, most recently serving as managing director for the UK and Ireland, delivering market-beating growth for three consecutive years and leading digital transformation across the organisation.

The company explained in a statement that Tait brings more with her than two decades of global general management, marketing and commercial experience spanning consumer goods, payments, e-commerce and digital marketing. Tait will report directly to chief executive officer, Andy Ruben.

Former L’Oréal and Google executive Gayle Tait joins Trove to help accelerate its growth

Commenting on her appointment, Tait, said: “I’m thrilled to join Trove at this important inflection point for the industry. Trove is building a market-leading technology platform that enables resale for the world’s most innovative brands across verticals that range from sportswear and outdoors to contemporary fashion to luxury. With many brands putting sustainability at the heart of their business, this is a pivotal moment for retail, when there is so much potential to make a significant positive impact on the environment.”

Ruben added: “Circular shopping is the fastest-growing retail segment and we’re very excited to have Gayle join us at this key moment to further propel our growing business. Her leadership experience and industry expertise will be invaluable as we continue on our quest to build the leading re-commerce technology platform enabling brands to control their resale market and reduce their environmental impact.”

The appointment comes off the back of a year of milestones for Trove, including significant revenue growth, and a new partnership with Levi’s to launch Levi’s SecondHand, a first-of-its-kind buy-back programme that enables consumers to exchange pre-owned Levi’s apparel in-store for a gift card.

In addition, Trove has assisted sustainable progress with its partners, as each Trove re-commerce partner eliminates 11,000 pounds of waste on average each year and diverts 41 percent of carbon dioxide from entering the air for every item that is purchased used versus new.

Image: courtesy of Trove