ASOS Chief Executive Exits in Leadership Shakeup
British online retailer ASOS on Monday (Oct. 11) said goodbye to CEO Nick Beighton ahead of what’s expected to be a tumultuous period for the company amid supply chain bottlenecks and a return to pre-pandemic shopping habits that could take a 40% bite out of its profits, according to Reuters.
Beighton leaves ASOS after 12 years with the company, including the last six as CEO. Company leaders said the new CEO will oversee faster international growth and is expected to generate 7 billion pounds ($9.5 billion) in revenue in the next four years.
Part of the decision to let Beighton go was because he wasn’t committed to staying with the company through at least half of its next five-year plan, Chairman Adam Crozier told Reuters.
“In that conversation with Nick over the last little while, we’ve sort of just come to the view jointly that he’s not going to be around for all of that, therefore it’s better to make the change now,” Crozier told Reuters, adding this year’s share price fall was “unhelpful.”
Chief Financial Officer Mat Dunn will serve as chief operating officer at ASOS and will lead the company’s day-to-day operations until it finds a new CEO. Director of Group Finance Katy Mecklenburgh will be ASOS interim CFO.
“While our performance in the next 12 months is likely to be constrained by demand volatility and global supply chain and cost pressures, we are confident in our ability to capture the sizeable opportunities ahead,” Dunn told Reuters.
ASOS is forecasting sales growth for fiscal 2022 in the 10-15% range. The company’s revenue was up 22% year-over-year through Aug. 31 to 3.91 billion pounds ($5.33 billion) on the backs of an active customer base that jumped 13% in the same time period to 26.4 million.
ASOS is targeting a doubling of its U.S. and Europe operations within four years and an additional 1 billion pounds ($1.36 billion) in annual own-brand sales in that that period.
Related: ASOS Debuts Augmented Reality Online Shopping Tool
ASOS debuted an augmented reality tool dubbed “See My Fit” that allows shoppers to see more than 800 items on up to 16 specific body types in January 2020, but then the COVID-19 pandemic began its spread around the world shortly thereafter, giving shoppers fewer opportunities to try it in person.
“See My Fit” virtual body types use models sizes 4 to 18 and 5 feet 1 inch to 5 feet 9 inches tall.