Asos names new chief executive and chair as it warns on profits

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Asos has appointed José Antonio Ramos Calamonte as its new chief executive and Jørgen Lindemann as incoming chair.

Ramos Calamonte has been promoted internally from his position as chief commercial officer and will take on the new role with immediate effect in addition to joining the Asos board.

His career has included strategy roles at brands such as Inditex, Esprit and Carrefour Spain.

Ramos Calamonte joined Asos in January 2021 from his role as chief executive of Salsa Jeans.

Since joining the business, he has been responsible for driving Asos’ product and trading strategy globally, including own-label product innovation and brand partnerships.

Lindemann, who joined the Asos board as a non-executive director in November 2021, will succeed Ian Dyson as chair from August 1.

In addition to his role at Asos, he is chair of Danish fashion marketplace Miinto and a board member of Bambuser. He was also formerly on the board of Zalando.

Ramos Calamonte said: “Asos is a great business with a strong brand, a compelling customer offer and great people. I joined Asos because it is a business I had admired for a long time.

“I am excited at the opportunities ahead and look forward to working with the board, the rest of the executive team and all our Asos colleagues to deliver every day for our customers around the world and to create sustainable long-term value for all stakeholders.”

Lindemann said: “I am delighted to be taking the role of chair of Asos. The board of Asos is clearly focused on ensuring we continue to make progress against our strategy, in spite of the unprecedented external challenges the business is facing. I look forward to working with José and the rest of the team to ensure delivery against our stated ambitions.”

Outgoing chair Ian Dyson added: “José is the right person to lead Asos through the next phase of growth and the board is delighted that he is becoming chief executive at such an important time. Since he joined the business, José has made an enormous contribution, driving change through our commercial function and bringing new energy and enthusiasm to the core product and trading functions of the business.

“José was a core part of the executive team that developed Asos’ strategy, outlined last year, against which we are making continued progress, in spite of the backdrop of difficult market conditions.

“I will step down from the Asos board after nine years, confident that we have in place the right leadership to deliver against the long-term strategy to significantly increase sales and profitability by leveraging Asos’ strong, scalable global platform and its best-in-class customer experience.”

The news comes as Asos downgraded its expectations for the full year in the face of uncertain consumer behaviour and elevated returns rates.

Asos said that it now expects revenue growth to be 4% to 7% and adjusted profit before interest and tax to be in the range of £20m to £60m.

The retailer recorded group revenues up 4% over the three-month period to May 31, against tough comparables of 47% growth the previous year, and reflected higher returns.