Former ASOS CEO joins Secret Sales as chairman

Secret Sales, a non-full-price marketplace for fashion and beauty brands, has announced the appointment of Nick Beighton as chairman. 

Beighton, who most recently held the role of CEO at ASOS, joined as Secret Sales marked growth of over 150% LFL by “solving a critical challenge in the fashion value chain for brands and retailers”. 

LRG Online Limited acquired Secret Sales in 2020 and has reportedly solved the problem of excess stock. Secret Sales partners with fashion brands, beauty brands and retailers, to help “businesses retain control of the branding, pricing and inventory to drive profit from non-full-price goods without undermining brand value”. 

Secret Sales has already reportedly reshaped the fashion industry by “delivering non-full-price strategies for over 1600 brands”. The business looks set to achieve growth of over 100% this financial year despite a challenging retail environment. 

Its seller base increased by almost 40% in the last year and has secured partnerships with fashion and beauty names including Ted Baker, Dolce and Gabbana, and Versace. The business also saw a 55% increase in active customers last year.  

Investors are already backing Secret Sales which secured €10m (£8.5m) in funding in 2021 to boost growth. This has been followed up with additional funding to accelerate the international growth strategy. Secret Sales operates in the UK, Netherlands and Belgium and plans to expand to a further 12 international territories over the next two years. 

Beighton said: “Secret Sales is nothing short of a game-changer for the fashion and beauty industry. For too long, excess stock has been seen in terms of cash recovery using clearance channels that erode the brand. With Secret Sales, the industry finally has access to a non-full-price inventory. 

“Businesses using Secret Sales can now reach significant margins, attract new customers for their own full price sales, and maintain their brand equity through a simple and sustainable off-price solution that doesn’t impact the retailers. For this sector, the scope of growth is astronomical”. 

Chris Griffin, Secret Sales CEO, said: “I am delighted that Nick is joining Secret Sales. He has a wealth of experience from his time at ASOS in building a global e-Commerce fashion retailer. This is highly relevant as Secret Sales continues its journey to be the world’s largest marketplace for non-full-price fashion. 

“Nick is a natural choice for Secret Sales as he understands the problem we are solving for the sector. Before Secret Sales, there wasn’t a fully joined-up proposition for turning non-full-price stock into a boardroom positive. Secret Sales offers a unique solution and Nick and I will work to deliver huge international growth.”