ASOS chief executive Nick Beighton resigns

Nick Beighton, who has served as chief executive of ASOS for over six years, has resigned.

ASOS also warned that supply chain issues and rising costs could impact its bottom line.

The e-commerce firm cited how “notable cost headwinds” such as inbound freight costs, labour cost inflation, outbound delivery costs, and Brexit duty could cut profits.

ASOS said that the retail industry’s current supply chain issues are “expected to continue through the first half” and will result “in longer lead times and constrained supply from a number of our partner brands.”

ASOS said the issues could cause 2022 profits to fall over 40 per cent.

The e-commerce firm is also experiencing other changes to its senior personnel.

Group finance director Katy Mecklenburgh will take on the role of interim chief financial officer, and Ian Dyson will replace Adam Crozier as non-executive chair and have responsibility for the day to day running of the business.

Beighton’s resignation is effective immediately, however he will continues to be available to advise the ASOS board until the end of 2021, and the retailer is currently searching for his replacement.

The e-commerce giant’s shares slid 15 per cent on news.

The news comes after ASOS performed strongly over the course of the pandemic; ASOS’ sales grew 19 per cent to £3.2 billion in the year ending 28 February 2021, beating Boohoo to become the UK’s largest online retailer by revenue.

“I have enjoyed every moment of my 12 years at ASOS,” said Beighton “When I joined, there were fewer than 200 people and we had annual sales of around £220 million.

“I leave a business reporting turnover of almost £4 billion, with more than 3,000 fantastic ASOS-ers delivering for 26 million customers in 200 markets around the world.”

"This has come as a huge surprise and the business is losing someone that has been instrumental to its success over the last decade,” said Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics. "The share price has been under recent pressure reflecting the challenges of delivering stellar levels of growth in a more hostile environment and tough comparisons from last year.”

He added: "Supply chain disruptions, fierce competitor dynamics and an intense focus on sustainability have created a more challenging outlook for the business over the coming years and seemingly resulted in a big boardroom shakeup."

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