Former Play.com head of games Gian Luzio has joined rising online retailer The Hut as product director.

During his seven-year stint at Play, Luzio was instrumental in leading the firm to three MCV Awards in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and the games team claimed the Golden Joystick awards for best retailer in 2005 and 2008.

Prior to joining Play, Luzio worked at GSP as key account manager and Midas as UK sales manager.

“The Hut are a company on the up,” explained Luzio. “I was at Play when they were a relatively new outfit and I’m excited to now join a company that has incredible potential.”

The Hut is a rising star in the online retail space. The firm picked up the Zavvi brand in February and re-launched the website, and has since produced portals for Tesco and WH Smith. It also recently launched a CD and DVD website for Argos.

The Hut CEO Matthew Moulding told MCV: “This year we’re aiming for sales of around £75 million. Amazon and Play dominate market share in games.

“But I think in gaming we can make some real headway by strengthening the team with key appointments that will underpin the sales growth we have planned.
“As long as we continue to bring in the quality staff we require and invest in the infrastructure, I think we’ll get there.”