Former vice president of Ralph Lauren, Simon Lee, has been appointed chief operations officer at global V-commerce fashion pioneers BrandLab360.
The innovative company, one of the earlier adopters of metaverse technology, headhunted Simon for his expertise in the fashion sector to help develop the company further.
The Welsh company, the first to pioneer the use of Web 3.0 from a browser, was named in Retail Week’s The Tech List with founders Jennifer Drury and Dan O’Connell being recognised for their innovative collaboration of the technology.
Co-founded in 2016, the firm has built a global reputation for providing immersive virtual reality solutions for the fashion and beauty industry and now has offices in the UK and USA. Unlike other platforms, customers can shop in the virtual reality stores complete with life-like avatars and buy goods direct rather than having to leave the virtual reality space to buy the products.
It now has major global clients including Estee Lauder, Timberland, Barbour, Skechers, Nautica, Harley Davidson and Mercedes Benz, and is pushing boundaries to champion solutions and brand objectives across all industries. The use of immersive gamification in virtual 3D stores has led to more rewarding user journeys, higher engagement and growth for clients.
Lee said: “My appointment to the senior leadership team of BrandLab360 is truly exciting. Working at the forefront of the Internet evolution has the inevitability of playing a positive part in the near future of ordinary day-to-day living.
“As vice president at Ralph Lauren I was often leading and collaborating on projects to either introduce or develop new technology to push the boundaries of a very traditional business model. It was always essential to keep both the customer and the brand experience at the forefront of any development, that balance is critical to luxury and premium brands.
“At BrandLab360 both the fashion and beauty sectors are main focuses. We are creating both B2B and B2C immersive metaverse solutions for some of the world’s leading brands. It is very rewarding being able to apply two decades of luxury brand commerce experience to our clients’ business objectives.”
Dan O’Connell and Jennifer Drury, co-founders of BrandLab360, said: “We are delighted to have Simon on board and are excited about the expertise and opportunities that he can bring.”
