(Bloomberg) -- Neiman Marcus Group went online for its latest management search, hiring a former Amazon.com Inc. executive to run its luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman as it refocuses efforts on growing internet sales.
Darcy Penick, previously chief executive officer of Amazon subsidiary Shopbop, will be tasked with speeding up the company's “digital transformation,” according to a statement. She will step into the job on Sept. 4.
Her “impressive leadership skills coupled with her success in digital and international retail make her the perfect choice to accelerate global growth at Bergdorf Goodman,” said Neiman Marcus Group Chief Executive Officer Geoffroy van Raemdonck.
At Amazon, Penick revamped the Shopbop website with a more refined look and invested in creating more editorial content to attract shoppers since becoming CEO in 2016. Bought by Amazon in 2006, Shopbop was one of the retailer's earliest forays into fashion and apparel.
Bergdorf Goodman is one of the highest-end luxury department stores in the world, selling fashion and home goods from brands such as Prada and Alexander McQueen. It operates two stores across the street from each other on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and an e-commerce website. Last year, e-commerce sales accounted for about 35 percent of Neiman Marcus Group's total sales. Van Raemdonck has said he hopes to one day achieve a 50-50 split between stores and online.
Online luxury retail has become crowded in recent years, with the rise of websites like Net-a-Porter and Farfetch. Though many fashion labels were long reluctant to sell their pricey goods on the internet for fear of diluting their brands, most of the major luxury houses now have their own online shops.
--With assistance from Hema Parmar.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Bhasin in New York at kbhasin4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Roeder
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