Rhyanna Cardillo didn’t plan on a career in eCommerce , but once she landed in it, she never looked back.
Now Acting Head of eCommerce at fashion powerhouse AJE, Rhyanna has driven major digital transformation projects, rebuilding the brand’s website and helping lay the foundation for global growth, all within a few years.
In the latest episode of Beyond the Fold, she joins StudioHawk’s GM Lawrence Hitches to unpack the fast-moving, data-driven, and creative world of fashion eCommerce.
Here’s what we learned:
- From the Shop Floor to the Strategy Room
- Building (and Rebuilding) at Speed
- Strategy Meets Creativity
- Balancing Trade, Tech, and Team
- Global Growth on the Horizon
- Final Word: Keep Testing, Keep Learning
From the Shop Floor to the Strategy Room
Rhyanna's story started on the shop floor at MECCA, where she worked throughout university. Her early exposure to customer experience and in-store education turned out to be the perfect training ground for what would come next.
After graduating, she joined MECCA's first-ever graduate program, a move that led her to a surprising but pivotal rotation in the eCommerce team.
“At the time, I actually felt disappointed,” she laughs. “I really wanted to go into buying. But within a couple of weeks in eComm, I was like, this is it.”
It was the data, the fast feedback loops, and the ability to make real-time changes that clicked for her. One of her first standout contributions? Noticing a pattern in site search data: customers were consistently searching by skin concern, but there was no clear way to shop that way. So she pitched a new category system based on concerns like redness, dryness, and rosacea and the team gave her the green light to build it.
That moment of initiative turned into a feature still used on MECCA's site today.
Building (and Rebuilding) at Speed
Today, Rhyanna leads eCommerce across AJE Collective, including AJE, AJE Athletica, and the newer AJE Studio. In just three years, she’s moved through four roles at the brand, covering everything from digital project management to trading and optimisation.
Her biggest project to date? A website rebuild completed in just six months.
“We rebuilt the codebase, redesigned the site, and rethought the entire customer journey,” she explains. “It was a huge team effort across digital, marketing, and our agency partners, but it paid off almost immediately.”
Post-launch, they saw faster load times, a lift in conversion rates, and more intuitive navigation across all brands and user segments. And importantly, the site was now structured to scale internationally, a key part of AJE’s next growth phase.
Strategy Meets Creativity
Part of what makes Rhyanna’s approach stand out is her balance of data and intuition.
She’s a self-confessed lover of spreadsheets, but she also knows when to push for a creative upgrade, like introducing more lo-fi content, bringing motion into stills, or experimenting with new AI tools to enhance product imagery.
“Customers want to see how a product looks on a real person,” she explains. “That means movement, different body types, no heavy retouching. They’re already searching for that on TikTok , we want to bring it into the site itself.”
By layering in user-generated content, shortform video, and creative merchandising techniques, the AJE team is reimagining how luxury fashion feels online, without slowing down site speed or trading performance.
Balancing Trade, Tech, and Team
Juggling long-term projects and day-to-day trading isn’t easy, especially across multiple brands and regions. Rhyanna credits strong processes, smart tooling, and her high-performing team for making it possible.
“We set clear priorities every Monday, but I’ll be honest, I rarely stick to mine perfectly,” she laughs. “But the key tasks always get done.”
She also stresses the importance of partnerships that work like extensions of the internal team, and building a culture where everyone feels empowered to make decisions.
“That’s what keeps things moving, especially when we’re pulled in five different directions.”
Global Growth on the Horizon
So what’s next?
AJE has its sights firmly set on international expansion. With a rebuilt site, growing data capability, and strong cross-functional collaboration, the team is now diving into market-specific strategies, tailoring content and UX based on how shoppers behave in the US, Middle East, and beyond.
It’s not just about translating a product page, it’s about understanding cultural shopping habits, delivery expectations, and the content formats that resonate.
Final Word: Keep Testing, Keep Learning
If there’s one takeaway from Rhyanna’s episode, it’s this: stay curious and keep iterating.
“In eComm, you’re never done. You rebuild, you optimise, and then customer behaviour shifts again,” she says. “The best thing you can do is stay close to your data, talk to your customers, and be willing to test things that might not work.”
Her advice to anyone breaking into the industry? “Say yes to as much as you can. Learn everything. Try things. That’s how I found my way into a career I love.”
Listen to the full episode with Rhyanna Cardillo on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or the StudioHawk website.
