Sephora has appointed Xia Ding General Manager of the Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR region. Formerly with Nike and JD.com, this new recruit, of Chinese origin, has 15 years’ experience in the fashion and e-commerce worlds. Her arrival reflects the LVMH Group’s strategy of promoting more local talent in its various markets.
Following Charles Leung’s promotion in April to CEO of jeweller Chaumet (after having been CEO of FRED), the LVMH group is promoting another talent of Asian origin to a key position, this time at Sephora.
On April 15, the selective beauty retailer, owned by the LVMH group, appointed Xia Ding Director, Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR.
Based in Shanghai, she will report directly to Alia Gogi, Sephora’s President Asia.
This appointment comes at a time when Sephora is seeking to strengthen its positions in Asia, and particularly in China.
A prominent e-commerce profile
Before joining Sephora, Xia Ding spent five years at Nike. There, she held the position of Vice President and General Manager of e-commerce for the Asia-Pacific and Latin American markets.
But above all, she was President of JD Fashion at JD.com. The latter, along with Tmall (Alibaba), is a real e-commerce heavyweight in China, already claiming 30 million members by 2022. For the full year 2023, JD.com reported net revenues of RMB 1,084.7 billion (US$152.8 billion), up 3.7% on 2022.
Arriving at JD.com in 2017, Xia Ding not only headed the e-commerce platform’s fashion department but also oversaw the late 2017 launch of TOPLIFE, JD.com’s proprietary luxury e-commerce platform. She was then responsible for all partnerships with international brands and drove merchandising strategies while working directly with designers and fashion editors.
Her role at JD.com led to her recognition by Forbes magazine as one of the 100 most important businesswomen of 2018, and her entry in 2017 into the top 10 most influential figures in China’s fashion industry.
Xia Ding was also previously Vice President of Retail at Nielsen in China and Vice President and Director for twenty years at HanesBrands Inc. where she led expansion efforts in China.
“Xia Ding is an outstanding leader with extensive experience in corporate management, digital transformations and strategic business development,” said Alia Gogi, president of Sephora. She said she was “confident that her skills, retail knowledge, digital and e-commerce expertise, and proven track record in building and sustaining profitable businesses will take Sephora Greater China into its next phase of growth and success.”
Expansion focused on China and Asia
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Featured Photo: © Sephora
