Neiman Marcus Group has announced that Darcy Penick is the new President of Bergdorf Goodman.
Penick will begin her new position on September 4, reporting directly to Geoffroy van Raemdonck, chief executive officer, Neiman Marcus Group.
Before joining Neiman Marcus Group, Penick was the chief executive officer of Shopbop, a subsidiary of Amazon. While there, she led the fast growth global eCommerce fashion business with a focus on enhanced customer engagement through daily fashion content.
In her new role, Penick will manage the Bergdorf Goodman brand, including its online enterprise and two Manhattan based flagship locations.
Penick actually began her retail career in 2000 at Neiman Marcus Group and held various merchandising roles across multiple categories at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. She continued her career at Saks, joining the retailer in 2006 before transitioning to Shopbop in 2009 as the divisional merchandise manager. She was promoted to chief merchandising officer within four years and in 2016 was appointed chief executive officer.
“Darcy’s impressive leadership skills coupled with her success in digital and international retail make her the perfect choice to accelerate global growth at Bergdorf Goodman. I have every confidence that Darcy will partner with our very talented existing team to bring even greater luster to Bergdorf Goodman and continue to elevate the brand as one of the world’s most prestigious luxury retailers,” said van Raemdonck.
Pernick’s background in eCommerce will help boost Neiman Marcus Group’s strategy to accelerate the company’s digital transformation. One example of this is when the company last month introduced a new initiative to generate sales via social media accounts on Instagram and Snapchat, with its sales associates connecting customers to sales on their personal accounts.
Former Neiman Marcus Chief Executive Karen Katz said that the company encouraged the practice because “customers who are attached to a sales associate spend more.”