Wainwright will also exit her role as chairperson and a member of the board of directors, effective June 7. Chief operating officer and president Rati Sahi Levesque as well as chief financial officer Robert Julain will serve as co-interim CEOs.
Wainwright, who created the resale platform in 2011, will take on an advisory role as founder until the end of the year while the board of directors commence a search for a new CEO.
“I look forward to continuing to work with The RealReal’s world-class team and positioning our unrivaled offerings and innovative platform to capitalize on our bright future ahead,” Wainwright said in a statement.
The RealReal announced earlier this year that it’s on track to reach profitability in 2024. In its most recent quarterly earnings report, the reseller posted a 31 percent increase year-over-year in gross merchandise value, a measure of sales on its website and across its stores. Even so, The RealReal’s stock has dropped dramatically since its IPO in 2019, losing nearly 90 percent of its value.
Learn more:
Can Fashion Resale Ever Be a Profitable Business?
Companies like The RealReal and ThredUp promised Wall Street that with scale comes profit. But operational costs and competition have kept them in the red.
