The Iconic, Rocket Internet’s Australian fashion e-tailer, raises USD 26M

By Jessie Jiang

The Iconic, Rocket Internet’s Syndey-based fashion e-commerce venture, announced last Thursday that it has raised US$26 million (AU$28 million) in additional funding. This round, combined with the previously raised US$46 million (AU$50 million), marked the largest e-commerce investment so far in Australia.

Verlinvest, a Belgian investment group, led the latest round of funding, along with existing shareholders Kinnevik, J.P. Morgan, and Rocket Internet.

“This investment will allow us to further enhance our top range of local and international fashion brands, reinforce the convenience of our website, and build on our market-leading shipping and customer service,” said Adam Jacobs, co-founder and managing director of the Australian e-tailer.

“We believe in the fast growing Australian e-commerce industry and want to provide Australians with the best online fashion shop they can imagine.”

Despite the management’s bullish outlook, the funding may well have arrived at a moment of need. Just last month, the company was reported to have laid off close to 10 percent of its workforce in Australia, in an attempt to curb rising overheads – even after it outsourced some customer service jobs over to India earlier this year.

Launched in 2011, The Iconic is an online retailer of men’s, women’s, and kids’ fashion items, catering to both the Australian and the New Zealand markets. With 4 million monthly users and over 45,000 SKUs from 500 brands, the company is currently the largest fashion e-tailer in Australia.

It is not yet profitable however, and its revenues and profit figures have not been made available. To fend off competition from other popular fashion outlets such as the British e-tailer ASOS, The Iconic is currently offering a more Australia-focused selection of designers and brands, free 3-hour delivery in Sydney, along with a free returns policy within 100 days of purchase.

The investment in The Iconic also followed hard on the heels of massive US$100 million cash injections respectively in the Southeast Asian fashion e-trailer Zalora and Lazada, which is modeled after Amazon but caters to the SEA region.

About the author

Formerly a chemist-turned science writer, Jessie enjoys dealing with complexity and explaining them in simple words. She became fascinated with the Internet during her stint as a TIME magazine reporter in Beijing, and has more recently been observing the booming startup scene in Singapore. Jessie holds an MBA from INSEAD, and loves writing and traveling. Find her on LinkedIn.