Online luxury and fashion retailer Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) has announced the appointment of Celine Lefebvre as Managing Director, Middle East, effective May 23, 2023.
Lefebvre brings over 20 years of experience in global brand management, sales, marketing and business development and comes to YNAP from self-founded consulting firm Nomad Lux. She started her career at Dunhill in London and previously held management positions at Asprey and Kering before moving to Dubai to lead marketing and digital business development at Chalhoub Group, a partner for luxury brands across the Middle East.
At YNAP, Lefebvre will be responsible for optimizing the customer experience and deepening localization to ensure the best possible curated service and product offering for customers.
“The Middle East is a dynamic, high-growth region that offers us the opportunity to further develop and refine our service and product offering for local customers. We are pleased to welcome Celine to our company. She is an accomplished leader and with her extensive international experience and deep understanding of luxury consumers, she is well suited to drive our business strategy and ambitious growth plans,” commented Alison Loehnis, interim CEO of YNAP, in a statement.
The Middle East is an important region for luxury brands with high smartphone penetration and rising disposable incomes. YNAP formed a joint venture in 2016 to become “the leading online luxury retailer in the Middle East.” Achieving this was part of the responsibilities of YNAP’s previous CEO for the region, Nisreen Shocair promoting and developing businesses in the region, including services such as personal shopping, customer support and localized websites. Targeted offerings such as Ramadan collections are also part of YNAP’s approach in the Middle East.