ASOS directors signal confidence with share buy

Three ASOS directors signalled their confidence in the future fortunes of the online fashion giant snapping up shares worth £782,000 after a significant slump in its share price as a result of a profit warning on Thursday 16 June.

The following day outgoing chairman Ian Dyson, his replacement as chair Jørgen Lindemann and senior non-executive director Patrick Kennedy all acquired shares. 

Lindemann, who was formerly senior non-executive director before being announced as Dyson's successor, bought shares worth £490,270, while Kennedy invested £242,895 and Dyson £49,655.

Shares in ASOS slumped by almost a third on Thursday to 783.5p (a 12-year low) after the company downgraded its profits forecast for the year to between £20 million to £60 million. Analysts had been expecting a forecast of around £80 million but ASOS said it was being hit by changes in consumer behaviour and by an increasingly high level of returns across Europe.

Shares recovered somewhat on Friday 17 June closing the day up 12.76% at 883.50p. Prior to the profits warning shares were trading around 1,160p.

At the same time as it announced the profits downgrade, the company also announced the appointment of José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, its former chief commercial officer, as its new CEO. Ramos Calamonte, a former CEO of Portuguese fashion brand Salsa Jeans and a former executive at Inditex, replaces Nick Beighton, who had been CEO at ASOS since 2015 but who stood down last year.

The appointment of Lindemann was also announced. Lindemann is a former director of Zalando and is also chair of Miinto, the Danish-based online fashion marketplace. In addition he sits on the board of Bambuser AB, the Swedish-based global live video shopping technology company. He is understood to have close links to the Bestseller Group, the Danish fashion group, which holds a significant shareholding in ASOS.