Asos lines up commercial officer for CEO role

Asos is reportedly set to name José Antonio Ramos Calamonte as its new CEO following the departure of Nick Beighton from the role last year. 

Ramos Calamonte, the current chief commercial officer at Asos, is now said to be the frontrunner for the role, according to The Sunday Times. 

The Times reported that the search for a new CEO had been delayed by the group’s attempt to headhunt Rob Hattrell for the role, after the head of eBay’s European arm turned down the offer.  

Ramos Calamonte first joined Asos 17 months ago, after stepping down as CEO of Portuguese retailer Salsa Jeans. Prior to this, he led the commercial strategy for brands including Zara owner Inditex. 

Asos first announced that Nick Beighton would step down as CEO last October, after 12 years with the business. The news came as the group warned that ongoing supply chain issues would hit its profit in FY22.

At the time, Beighton said: “I leave a business reporting turnover of almost £4bn, with more than 3,000 fantastic Asos-ers delivering for 26 million customers in 200 markets around the world.

“I am particularly proud of the way in which we have led our industry on putting sustainability at the heart of everything we do with our Fashion with Integrity programme. I wish Mat and the rest of the team well for the next phase of the Asos journey.”

In the group’s latest half-year update, Asos revealed pre-tax profits fell 115% year-on-year from £106.4m to a pre-tax loss of £15.8m in the six months to 28 February 2022 (H1 FY21). 

The company also said it is expected to take a further £14m hit following its decision to suspend sales in Russia, with revenue growth expected to drop 2%.

The announcement comes as Asos reported 1% revenue growth to £2bn in H1 FY21, as supply chain constraints impacted newness and stock availability and ongoing Covid restrictions impacted demand.