mydeco.com takes on new CEO, Nicole Vanderbilt

(I-Newswire) December 1, 2009 - Innovative homewares aggregator, mydeco.com, has announced the appointment of a new CEO. Former Bebo International VP and Google Industry Marketing Head, Nicole Vanderbilt, will take over from David Kelly in January 2010 after a transition period in December. Kelly will remain on the mydeco Board and continue supporting the business.

Kelly teamed up with Brent Hoberman and Paul Chudleigh in 2007 with a joint vision to create the UK’s best online intermediary for the homewares sector. Today the elegant, design-led site brings together over 2,000 UK retailers and independent designers, using a powerful bespoke classification algorithm to logically organise and showcase over 5 million products. The stylish site also boasts a community of 80,000 design enthusiasts, industry leading 3D room planning tools and a respected design blog. In the build up to Christmas, the site continues to experience good growth, with traffic volumes up 38% year on year, referrals to retailers up 133% year on year, and customer acquisition up 84% year on year.

As a respected senior figure in the social media and online marketing arena, Nicole Vanderbilt will use her experience to enhance the mydeco community, develop the USA proposition and evolve the brand in the core UK market. Nicole has an extensive marketing career developing leading brands including Bebo, Google EMEA, American Express Europe and Jupiter Research.

Brent Hoberman said, “I’d like to thank David for leading the development of such an ambitious venture. He has created an exceptional platform, hired and mentored an incredibly strong team, and delivered strong growth metrics. We’re in great position for Nicole to lead the business forward to the exponential growth it deserves.”

Kelly said, “I am incredibly proud of the business model we have built, the team we have recruited and the impact we are having on the ecommerce and homewares sector. We have made tremendous progress over the last 3 years. I believe Nicole will inject a fresh perspective into the business going forward and I’m pleased to be staying on the Board”.

Nicole Vanderbilt said, “mydeco.com is already a powerful design and ecommerce platform for the UK homewares market. I'm looking forward to working with this incredible team to build the brand further, grow our community, and take us into new markets. mydeco is uniquely placed to help consumers make their homes truly their own by offering the widest selection of products, design tools, and inspiring content."

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For more information
Please contact Michelle Saxby at the mydeco press office: michelle@mydeco.com, 020 3384 1337

About mydeco.com
mydeco.com was founded by the management team behind lastminute.com, one of Europe’s most successful ever online businesses. mydeco brings together more than 5 million home ware products from over 2,000 retailers. From high-end to high street, mass market to niche, you will find what you are looking for on mydeco without trawling the high street.
Key website features include:

• Shopping: search the UK’s most comprehensive database of home products by price, style, discount, colour or dimensions.
• Design: build a virtual model of your home and decorate it from over 75,000 3D modelled pieces of furniture, furnishings and accessories all available to buy.
• Community: share creative ideas, tips and tricks with 80,000 members, ask questions, see other’s designs and show-off your designs.
• The blog: get the latest news from the interiors world; keep up-to-date on trends and industry developments.
• Buy the look: view hundreds of inspiring looks from well-known designers, celebrities and even famous hotels.
• Shop by style: from romantic to urban, find hundreds of stylish products in categorised by a range of styles.

About mydeco.com:
mydeco.com is the inspirational new offering from lastminute.com founder, Brent Hoberman, aimed at revolutionising the way we design and shop for our homes. Launched in February 2008, mydeco is the UK’s leading retail hub for home wares and a worldwide focal point for an international interior design community. It combines the best web 2.0 interactive capabilities, with world-leading functionality, content, products and services, making it the definitive online location for anyone thinking about the home.

Company Contact Information
mydeco.com
Newcombe House, 45 Notting Hill Gate,
London
W11 3LQ
Phone : 020 3384 1337