Fashion retailer Matches has hired Ulric Jerome, founder of Pixmania, the French online business owned by Dixons, as its chief operating officer.

Jerome starts at Matches, which has 13 stores across London and a rapidly growing website, immediately and joins its board.

The etailer received £20m investment last year from venture capital firm Scottish Equity Partners and technology equity fund Highland Europe which it intends to plough into its online operation with particular focus on overseas markets, including the US and Australia.

Jerome, who was a founding partner and executive director of Pixmania, helped grow its turnover to over €800m. It now operates across 26 countries across Europe.

Matches chief executive Tom Chapman said: “He has an exceptional wealth of experience in driving growth across omnichannel businesses and shares our strategic vision as we continue to develop matches as a unique luxury fashion destination that services the global market.”

Jerome said: “I look forward to working with the company’s dedicated staff to position Matcheson a global scale with a structure that will enable us to deliver the ultimate user experience for our customers while valuing our luxury partner brands across our distribution channels.”