Etsy names insider Kruti Goyal as new CEO, forecasts weak core sales

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Online marketplace Etsy named insider Kruti Goyal as its new chief executive officer on Wednesday, succeeding Josh Silverman, who has spent over eight years in the role. 

Goyal, a long-time Etsy executive, will take the helm on January 1 at a time when tough competition in the e-retail sector and tight consumer budgets have dented the company's sales, as it faces uncertainties arising from tariff policies. 

Etsy's shares, which have gained about 40 per cent so far this year, were down 9 per cent in premarket trading, after the company also forecast muted gross merchandise sales (GMS) - a key metric - for the current quarter. 

Goyal, currently president and chief growth officer, has led fashion reseller Depop, which Etsy bought for $1.63 billion in 2021, for close to three years. 

Silverman will take over from Fred Wilson as executive chair and will remain in the role until December 31 of the next year. 

Etsy now expects GMS for the current quarter to be between $3.50 billion to $3.65 billion, down from $3.74 billion last year. 

For the third quarter, Etsy posted GMS of $2.72 billion, down from last year's $2.92 billion and market estimate of $2.76 billion, per three analysts on LSEG. 

Its marketplace active buyers fell 5 per cent to 86.6 million in the quarter ended September 30, while sellers dropped 10.9 per cent to 5.5 million from a year ago. 

The removal of "de minimis" - duty-free treatment of e-commerce packages worth less than $800 - for products originating from China and Hong Kong, has also dragged transactions on the platform, despite international packages making up only a small fraction of Etsy's business. 

However, Etsy posted revenue of $678 million in the reported quarter, beating analysts' expectations of $655.3 million.