Former Amazon executive Darcy Penick (pictured left) has been appointed president of Bergdorf Goodman, the famed retailer owned by Neiman Marcus.
Penick previously served as CEO of Shopbop, a fashion e-commerce site that is a subsidiary of Amazon.com.
However, Penick is in no stranger to Neiman Marcus Group, having begun her retail career there in 2000, holding various merchandising roles across multiple categories at both Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. In 2006, she joined Saks Fifth Avenue, then transitioned to Shopbop, starting as division merchandise manager. She was eventually promoted to chief merchandising officer, and in 2016, to Shopbop CEO.
In her new role, Penick will oversee Bergdorf’s New York City flagship on Fifth Avenue and its men’s store across the street, as well as the retailer’s website. She will report to Neiman Marcus Group CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck, who joined the company in January.
A Neiman Marcus statement said Penick’s appointment is “part of Neiman Marcus Group’s strategy to accelerate the company’s digital transformation.”
In a LinkedIn post shortly after he was hired as CEO, van Raemdonck said that Neiman intends to pursue a “digital first” strategy.
“Our customers don’t care about channels,” he said. “They care about being able to engage and shop anywhere, any way, at any time.”
“We are only at the beginning of what will be a tectonic shift,” he added. “Our industry’s changing dynamics will create real challenges and real opportunities. We began the hard work to transform, and we’re starting to see the results. Now is the time to accelerate and reinvent the customer experience.”
He said that he plans to “push the boundaries on the very idea of retailing. We will never change the essence of what makes us magical, but we will change how we deliver that magic to better serve our customers today and well into the future.”
(Image courtesy of Neiman Marcus Group)
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
