Trove Promotes Gayle Tait to CEO
● She joined Trove from Google 18 months ago.
Branded re-commerce platform provider Trove has promoted Gayle Tait from president to chief executive officer. Andy Ruben, CEO, will become executive chairman of the company, which he founded in 2011. In that role, Trove said in a statement that Ruben will be “focusing closely on industry leadership, sustainability and supporting Trove’s growth strategy.”
Since Tait joined the company from Google 18 months ago, Ruben said, “her contributions have been transformative. Her leadership, vision and operational expertise will undoubtedly propel Trove to new heights as we continue to build our technology platform and grow across luxury and other categories.”
At Google, Tait served as Google Play’s managing director, global retail and payments activation, “scaling and growing a multibillion-dollar business operating in more than 30 markets,” Trove said in the statement. “Prior to that, Tait spent nearly 15 years with L’Oréal in a series of roles of increasing responsibility, most recently serving as managing director for the U.K. and Ireland, leading digital transformation across the organization.”
Tait praised Ruben, saying she was honored to succeed him, and noted that his “inspiring vision had made us what we are today.” Tait said she joined Trove because she is “committed to our mission to accelerate the shift to a new era of conscious commerce essential to a sustainable future, where brands own their resale channels and customer relationships.”
Tait said Trove’s technology is powering the shift to greater circularity “for some of the world’s most iconic brands” and said she’s looking forward to working with new brands “so they can reach and convert new customers, increase customer lifetime value and tap additional revenues, all while significantly reducing their environmental footprint.”
Trove’s current client list includes Lululemon, Patagonia, Allbirds, Eileen Fisher and Levi Strauss & Co., among others. Trove said consumer survey data shows that 65 percent of respondents want to experience resale directly through the brands they support.
In a blog post last fall, Trove outlined some of the driving forces behind the growth of the resale market. The company noted younger generations who were personally impacted by a financial crisis in the late Aughts, and who are now more price-sensitive and see resale as smart shopping.
The re-commerce market also got a boost as online sales and the digitalization of fashion apparel accelerated during the pandemic. “Moving resale online meant expanded inventory availability across geographies, an improved shopping experience through simpler browsing and searching, and convenient at-home delivery,” Trove said in its blog post. “These modern brands gave resale a new contemporary look, with digital-first shopping experiences, sleek subscription packages and easy closet cleanout kits, winning over Millennials and Gen Zs by looking more like trendy d-to-c offerings than outdated vintage stores.”
Another key factor driving the popularity of resale is a desire from consumers for greater sustainability. Circularity addresses many of the apparel industry’s environmental issues — such as carbon emissions, water pollution and material waste production.
For its part, Trove said it “powers the technology, operations and analytics that enable brands to create a scalable and profitable branded re-commerce channel while maintaining ownership of their customer relationships and data.”