Neil Cole Announces The Formation of Next Retail Concepts

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Neil Cole, a pioneer of the asset light business model of brand management and former Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Iconix Brand Group, Inc., announced today the formation of Next Retail Concepts (the "Company"). Next Retail Concepts is a retail technology and brand management company specializing in the growth and scale of consumer lifestyle brands through a vast network of global partnerships and innovative commerce solutions. Cole will serve as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Next Retail Concepts.

Additionally, Cole has partnered with former Google senior executive Serge Kassardjian, who has been named Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of NextRev Commerce ("NextRev"), an incubated venture of Next Retail Concepts. Kassardjian, a seasoned executive in the technology industry, was the former Global Head of Media Apps for Google Play and Android. NextRev will utilize XR technologies to power next generation immersive shopping experiences to enhance brand engagement, deepen consumer experience, and ultimately, disrupt and transform e-commerce.

Neil Cole, CEO, Next Retail Concepts, stated, "I believe we are creating the brand optimization model of the future by capitalizing on these cutting edge technologies, and I am excited by the immersive technology we are developing. I believe it will not only excite consumers but allow retailers to offer a brand experience unlike anything in the market today."

Next Retail Concepts will also provide brand management through the Company's NextBrand Group division. NextBrand will focus on the monetization, acquisition and growth of consumer lifestyle brands. Cole added, "We see a new path forward in the brand management model and I am excited to leverage new technologies in this venture."

About Neil Cole:
Cole, an entrepreneur and visionary in the licensing and fashion industry, has been credited with pioneering the asset light business model of brand management. As the Founder of Iconix Brand Group, Inc., he built a diversified portfolio of intellectual properties across fashion, home and entertainment based brands.  Under Cole's leadership, Iconix grew to be the second largest licensing company in the world. Prior to founding Iconix in 2005, Cole was the Chairman and CEO of Candie's, Inc. for over a decade where Cole transformed the footwear brand into a global lifestyle brand. Earlier in his career, Cole founded his first start-up, New Retail Concepts, Inc. in 1986, through which he created and built the famous jeans brand, No Excuses.

In addition to building a global multi- billion dollar business, Cole has been a longtime supporter of women's issues. He founded The Candie's Foundation in 2001, a not-for-profit organization that worked to educate America's youth about the devastating consequences of teenage pregnancy. Since its peak in 1991, the teen birth rate declined by 67%. The Foundation recently underwent a rebranding and is now TheNext.Org continuing its work for the prevention of teen pregnancy. He was also the leader of the team that created the  Women's Equality Party in New York State. Cole is also on the Board of Directors of The Mount Sinai Children's Center Foundation, Crutches 4 Kids and was also a member of Governor Cuomo's SAGE Commission.

About Serge Kassardjian:
Serge Kassardjian was the former Global Head of Media Apps for Google Play and Android leading global business development efforts with Media companies including Entertainment, Video, Sports, News, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Cable verticals. He was on the launch team for Daydream Virtual Reality, Android TV, ARCore and various mobile and tablet Android devices. He formerly worked on incubation businesses in Google's GeoCommerce division, focused on Payments and Offers and was a member of the original Google Wallet launch team doing merchant partnerships. He also was a Venture Capital Investor at Globespan Capital Partners and Corporate Development Director in Sony Music's Global Digital Business. Kassardjian started his career as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. He is currently an active angel investor and advisor in various startups. He received his MBA from Harvard and Bachelors and Masters in Engineering from Stanford where he was the President of his class.                                              

About Next Retail Concepts:
Next Retail Concepts, founded in November 2017 by Neil Cole, is a retail technology and brand management company specializing in the growth and scale of consumer lifestyle brands through a vast network of global partnerships and innovative commerce solutions. Next Retail Concepts has incubated two related ventures: NextRev Commerce, Co-Founded by Serge Kassardjian, which utilizes XR technologies to power next generation immersive shopping experiences to enhance brand engagement, deepen consumer experience and ultimately, disrupt and transform e-commerce, and NextBrand Group, which focuses on the monetization, acquisition and growth of consumer lifestyle brands. For additional information please visit

www.nextretailconcepts.com.

SOURCE Next Retail Concepts

Related Links

http://www.nextretailconcepts.com