Cocoon Club names new chief executive

Cocoon Club, the luxury handbag membership business, has named Kate Rand, previously chief operating officer at Threads Styling, as its new chief operating officer.

Rand, who has a track record of building and scaling growth businesses and experience in social commerce, succeeds Ceanne Fernandes-Wong, who co-founded Cocoon Club with Matt Heiman in 2019. Heiman will continue to actively support the business as chairman.

Commenting on her appointment, Rand said in a statement: “The Cocoon concept of making luxury accessible, whilst encouraging consumers to move away from fast fashion purchases is something that resonates deeply with me. The business model and market opportunities we have ahead of us are extremely compelling, and we are ahead of the curve.

“I am thrilled to be able to take Cocoon on the hyper growth journey; to be able to provide a way for the luxury brands that we love and admire to stay relevant, reach new consumers, and ultimately be more sustainable is such a strong purpose to be motivated by.”

With Rand in place, Cocoon Club intends to scale the business significantly in the coming year to establish itself as an international player and is targeting a significant funding round in the autumn.

Cocoon Club is backed by investors, including Kering Ventures, the investment arm of Kering acquiring holdings in services and technologies for the next generation of luxury consumers. It has more than 1,200 active members, which the company states is growing year-on-year.