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Global Fashion Group
One of the leaders in Amazon’s European operations has left the e-retail giant to run a fashion company that’s now flush with cash.
Romain Voog, the former Amazon France president, has been appointed CEO of Global Fashion Group, the company announced Wednesday. In his new role, Voog will be in charge of five distinct fashion-focused e-commerce sites operating in 27 countries around the world.
Global Fashion Group is part of the Rocket Internet family of companies. Rocket Internet, which was founded in 2007, aims to launch a variety of online startups to cater to Web users outside of two core markets: the US and China. The company had previously launched five fashion-focused e-commerce sites — Zalora, Dafiti, Lamoda, Namshi, and Jabong — which are now all part of the Global Fashion Group umbrella. Last year, Rocket Internet said that it plans to launch 10 startups in 2015.
The central theme at Global Fashion Group is to appeal to consumers in emerging markets around the world that might have an interest in fashion products commonly purchased in the US and in other developed countries. In a statement Wednesday, Global Fashion said that its goal is to become the top destination for people in emerging markets looking for fashion.
Tapping Voog to run the group is an important step, given his experience. Voog has spent the last seven years at Amazon running that company’s operation in France, and prior to that, held leadership roles as a strategic consultant at other companies.
Voog’s appointment comes alongside Global Fashion Group’s announcement that it has raised 32 million euros ($34.7 million) from existing investors Tengelmann Ventures and Verlinvest. The company says that the venture round imputes a value of 2.8 billion on the Global Fashion Group.
Global Fashion Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
