Australian e-tailer The Iconic opens much bigger Sydney fulfilment centre to rival Asos

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Dec 9, 2016

Australian fashion e-commerce newcomer The Iconic has tapped a $2 million-a-year industrial lease to occupy a massive warehouse in Sydney, as the website continues to generate double-digit sales growth and rival international e-tail heavyweights.

The Iconic, backed by Germany's Rocket Internet and Sweden's Kinnevik and part of the Global Fashion Group, has leased a 19,100 square metre warehouse in Sydney's industrial west on a seven-year term, paying annual net rent of $2.05 million plus GST, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The fashion e-tailer hopes to double its factory floor space and improve the speediness of its product delivery. State-of-the-art machinery will sort and distribute merchandise so that it can be delivered to customers more quickly and efficiently -- even same-day.

"This will allow us to continue to raise the bar in customer experience," The Iconic CEO Patrick Schmidt told The Australian Financial Review.

"The move to The Iconic's new Fulfilment Centre is an investment in our future. Moving to this new space is critical to help us scale and grow sustainably as we continue to pave the way in Australian retail."

The localised platform could take a large chunk of online apparel sales from Asos in Australia. The UK online fashion giant was reportedly flying in nearly four jumbo jets full of clothing into Australia each week to keep up with local sales, said AFR.

The Iconic recorded more than $100 million in sales in 2015 and is on track to make its first annual profits in the coming quarters. It has more than 1 million customers and is estimated to account for between 5 and 10 per cent of online fashion sales in Australia.

The e-commerce site saw a 13.5% jump in revenues in the last 12 months, totalling $20.8 billion, according to the National Australia Bank's latest Online Retail Sales Index. 

The Iconic sells more than 50,000 fashion and footwear products across more than 700 national and international brands, including Calvin Klein, Converse, Adidas and G-Star Raw.