Hobbs ex-ecommerce director Gracia Amico appointed boss of online pet accessories retailer Pets Pyjamas

Amico, who has previously worked at Topman and Burberry and is highly regarded in the world of ecommerce, plans to grow Pets Pyjamas outside of the UK to Germany and North America, as it aims to take a slice of the £58bn global pet market.

Pets Pyjamas launched in 2012 and it is backed by JustAddRed, an investor hub set up by online entrepreneurs.

Pets Pyjamas sells 8,000 products across food and accessories for pets with many from independent manufacturers. It also offers pet services such as travel through its ‘Pet Concierge’ service, which enables pet owners to book pet-friendly holidays through the site.

The website is also a hub for pet lovers to connect with groomers and pet-sitters and has its own social network.

Amico said: “As a dog owner and pet lover myself, I have been aware for some time of the fast growing pet industry and am fascinated by the Pets Pyjamas business model. It is retail, services and content all in one, focussing on the target consumer and fulfilling a number of their pet lifestyle needs.

“Part of this trend is also the emergence of all kinds of pet services including pet travel which are a few years behind retail in online terms so it will be very exciting to be involved in developing this whole area.”

Amico left premium fashion retailer Hobbs in February after a year.

JustAddRed investor and founder of Toptable, the online restaurant booking site, Karen Hanton said: “Gracia is an outstanding businesswoman who will be a major driving force in propelling Pets Pyjamas forward. Both investors and team are hugely excited and delighted to have attracted such a highly respected industry heavyweight.

“She brings a great depth of knowledge and experience within the digital world and also as a fellow entrepreneur and e-ommerce pioneer who founded her own online jewellery business in the very early dotcom days.”

The pet retail sector in the UK has been making the headlines recently as market leader Pets at Home floated on the stock market last month, valued at £1.3bn.