ASOS appoints new UK MD as it announces updated growth strategy

ASOS has promoted its SVP North America, Sean Trend, to Managing Director for the UK and US, as part of its strategy and customer-focused approach to driving growth.

Moving to a geography-based structure to enable more tailored strategies at a local level, the online retailer has also appointed Jag Weatherley as Managing Director for Europe & Rest of World.

It follows the "strong" strategic progress that the marketplace has made to date, which includes significantly reducing its stock levels, improving its product, and refinancing its debt, while making its operations more efficient and profitable.

The new structure will allow ASOS to put the customer at the centre of everything it does by accelerating decision-making and adopting a culture of continuous innovation and improvement.

The first stage was focused on the technology function in the first quarter of FY25, attempting to create a more "agile" and "effective" structure to better serving customers and drive growth.

ASOS has now further strengthened its technology function with the appointment of Przemek Czarnecki as EVP Technology, taking over from Interim EVP Technology, Hugh Williams.

Czarnecki brings 30 years of experience in digital engineering and engineering management, with a strong focus on digital technology and e-commerce. He has worked across Europe and the US, most recently as VP, Software Engineering at Zalando.

Other strategic priorities for ASOS include consolidating commercial and customer functions into a single team, responsible for delivering an exciting customer journey on-site and off-site - led by a new EVP Commercial & Customer.

Meanwhile, brand and creative strategy are being streamlined to help create a "singular creative vision for ASOS that establishes the brand as a destination for style" - led by EVP Brand & Creative, Vanessa Spence, previously EVP Creative.

To ensure Topshop and Topman can "thrive" as standalone brands, ASOS has also launched a dedicated cross-functional team supported by its infrastructure as a service. The business will be led by Michelle Wilson, previously Chief of Staff and Strategy, as Managing Director Topshop & Topman.

Wilson will also manage the company's global wholesale business, which includes partnerships with Nordstrom in the US, Reliance Retail in India, and BESTSELLER in Europe.

Finally, the division for people, corporate affairs and strategy has been consolidated to "better align strategic decision-making and communication". Ras Vaghjiani, previously EVP People Experience, will lead as EVP People, Communications & Strategy. He will be supported by Rishi Sharma, who has been appointed as SVP Corporate Affairs & Strategy.

All changes will be effective from April 2025 and will streamline decision-making processes, empower teams, and strengthen ASOS' ability to quickly respond to market opportunities.

José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, Chief Executive Officer at ASOS, said: "These changes represent an exciting new chapter for ASOS. By reorganising and focusing on our strengths, we're better equipped to seize opportunities and accelerate our growth.

"The talent and dedication of our teams are our greatest assets, and these organisational updates are designed to harness those qualities more effectively than ever so we can deliver the best product and most exciting experiences for our customers.

"We will continue to innovate, collaborate, and lead with passion and commitment as we pursue our goal of becoming the world’s number one destination for fashion-loving twenty-somethings."