Peter Semple has clearly done good job as interim CEO of Depop, the peer to peer fashion resale marketplace, as he’s now got the job permanently.
Peter Semple
The UK-based Etsy subsidiary has appointed him to the post after three months spent as interim chief executive.
Before that he’d served in a number of executive roles at the business after joining in 2019. He clearly knows the company inside out having first been its CMO, before becoming chief brand officer in 2021 and CMO again in 2023. He became interim CEO in May.
And his experience of cutting edge online businesses goes beyond Depop, having been with Google’s creative lab for seven years before joining.
Semple said of his six-year journey to the top job at the firm that “from building our brand as chief marketing officer to guiding the company as interim chief executive officer, has been a privilege. Together with our incredible team, I am committed to accelerating our mission to make fashion circular.”
London headquartered Depop, which also has offices in Manchester and New York, was fully taken over by stock-exchange listed Etsy in 2021.
Josh Silverman, CEO of Etsy, said: “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.”
Depop’s next set of accounts (for 2024) is due within two months. Its last accounts, filed last autumn and covering 2023, showed its community growing to 35 million registered users, up from 30 million in 2022.
That helped to push revenue up 31% to £71.3 million and the operating loss narrowed by 29% to £49.1 million. Its key markets are the US, UK and Australia and around 56% of Depop sellers who made a sale during the year in question also made at least one purchase.
Some 94% of its gross merchandise sales are in the apparel category.
