Sydney, 29 October 2018 – Global Fashion Group (GFG), the leading online fashion destination for
growth markets, today announced the appointment of Erica Berchtold as Chief Executive Officer of
THE ICONIC. Erica will join THE ICONIC in February 2019 and take over from Patrick Schmidt, who has
served as CEO since 2013. Patrick took on the role of Co-CEO of Global Fashion Group earlier this year
in February 2018. He will also become Chairman of THE ICONIC.
Erica brings almost 20 years of retail experience to THE ICONIC, most recently serving as Managing
Director of the Sports Division for Super Retail Group (incorporating Rebel Sport) for seven years.
During her time at SRG, Erica was instrumental in driving strong business growth, whilst scaling
employee and customer engagement. In addition to her Managing Director role, Erica was a member
of the Super Retail Group Executive Team. Prior to joining Super Retail Group, Erica held a number of
senior management positions including General Manager of two women's apparel businesses for
Specialty Fashion Group, General Manager of Merchandise & Marketing for Rebel Sport and National
Product Management roles at Harvey Norman.
Erica said: “I am absolutely honoured to be joining THE ICONIC, the most dynamic, fastest growing
fashion retailer across Australia and New Zealand. With a laser-focus on customer experience, the
team has done an amazing job evolving the brand and it will be fantastic working with them to take the
business to even greater heights. I’m humbled to be given this opportunity, accept it with two-hands
and can’t wait to get started.”
Patrick, Co-CEO of Global Fashion Group, continues: “We are thrilled to welcome Erica to THE ICONIC
team after an extensive global search to appoint our new CEO. THE ICONIC is now serving millions of
customers every year and although we’ve achieved great success to date, we’re only just getting
started. Under Erica’s guidance, THE ICONIC will continue to thrive as it designs the future of fashion
retail across Australia and New Zealand, liberating its customers with a seamless and inspiring
shopping experience. We’re excited to have found the very leadership qualities in Erica that are
required to ensure the continued success of one of GFG’s most important businesses, and I’m
delighted to support Erica and THE ICONIC team”.
Global Fashion Group’s Chairman, Cynthia Gordon, added, “Erica’s deep understanding of retail
anchored by a strong leadership track record will be a cornerstone for THE ICONIC’s success. Her
experience managing a large organisation, along with her operational acumen, will help drive THE
ICONIC’s continued growth as it creates the fashion shopping experience of the future for its
customers.”
Patrick will remain CEO of THE ICONIC until Erica assumes her position as CEO in February 2019.
– ENDS –
About THE ICONIC:
THE ICONIC is Australia and New Zealand’s fastest growing and leading fashion destination. Since
2011, it has defined the future of retail by creating a seamless and inspiring shopping experience for its
customers. THE ICONIC boasts the fastest delivery across Australia and New Zealand, free shipping
over $50 and free returns for 30 days, and is also Australia and New Zealand’s most downloaded
fashion app. THE ICONIC has thousands of international and local brands and products across
Womens, Mens, Designer and Kids, with 200+ new products arriving on site daily. A proud member of
Global Fashion Group, the world’s leader in online fashion for growth markets, THE ICONIC is focused
on liberating its customers with endless shopping possibilities. For more information, visit
http://www.theiconic.com.au.
About Global Fashion Group (GFG):
Global Fashion Group (“GFG”) is the leading fashion and lifestyle destination in Asia Pacific, Latin America and CIS. We connect over 8,000 global, local and own brands to a market of more than one billion consumers through four established e-commerce platforms: THE ICONIC, ZALORA, Dafiti and Lamoda. Through an inspiring and seamless customer experience enabled by our own technology ecosystem and operational infrastructure, we are dedicated to being the #1 fashion and lifestyle destination in our markets. With 19 offices and 10 fulfilment centres across four continents, GFG proudly employs a dynamic and diverse team with deep local knowledge and expertise. In the twelve months to 30 September 2018, GFG delivered approximately 26 million orders to over 11 million active customers, generating Net Merchandise Value of approximately €1.2 billion. For more information, visit http://global-fashion-group.com
