Marks & Spencer (M&S) will launch on The Iconic in early 2027, and its Australian online orders will be fulfilled from Southeast Asia instead of the UK.
The British retailer will sell a selection of its womenswear, menswear, kidswear and lingerie on the platform across Australia and New Zealand.
The Iconic’s sister platform Zalora will hold the M&S inventory in a single stock pool in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This runs through parent company Global Fashion Group’s (GFG) multi-channel fulfilment network. The stock pool will serve orders across The Iconic, Zalora and M&S’s Australian website, and Australian M&S.com customers will get their orders up to five days faster.
The partners noted that the model could scale to other markets.
“Our ambition is to leverage M&S as a trusted global brand, driving growth through capital-light, scalable partnerships,” M&S managing director of international Mark Lemming said.
Lemming said online growth is a key part of how the retailer reaches customers globally. He added that regional fulfilment would mean faster delivery for shoppers across Asia Pacific.
The deal is part of M&S’s international strategy, which relies on strategic partnerships and simple operating models that can scale. The retailer plans to pair its brand and product offer with The Iconic and Zalora’s platforms, regional infrastructure and marketing capabilities, and use that as a base for future growth across Asia Pacific.
The Iconic CEO Jere Calmes said M&S is a much-loved British brand and that the business expects its customers to welcome the range. M&S is already live on Zalora.
“We’re looking forward to bringing the brand to Australian and New Zealand shoppers next year, combining our local insight and customer relationships with the scale of Global Fashion Group,” Calmes said.
GFG’s fulfilment network lets brand partners manage their inventory from one stock pool and sell both on and off its platforms. It builds on The Iconic’s regional infrastructure, which includes four fulfilment centres, dedicated returns hubs and last-mile delivery networks.
GFG runs The Iconic in Australia and New Zealand, Dafiti in Brazil and Colombia, and Zalora in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Mid last year, Marks & Spencer launched physically in Australia with a curated edit at David Jones stores nationwide. The brand has been selling into Australia via its local website, which was launched in 2016, and had managed its own stores here until 2001.