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ASOS in consultation over redundancies at London HQ

Lauretta Roberts
07 July 2019

Online fashion giant ASOS is in consultation with staff over approximately 100 redundancies at its North London HQ, according to reports this weekend.

The Sunday Times reports that most of the proposed job cuts will come from its marketing department and come shortly after the company reported that half-year pre-tax profits had crashed 87% to £4m.

ASOS said when its half-year figures were published that the "disappointing" results were down to costs relating to adding new warehouse capacity in the US and a high level of discounting and promotional activity across the market. It has also been clamping down on "serial returners" with returns estimated to be around 40% by industry watchers.

Despite the profits crash sales grew 14%, or 12% at constant currency, to £1.3bn, in the six months to 28 February.

At the time CEO Nick Beighton said the company was coming to the end of a major capital expenditure programme and the he was confident it could achieve a better performance in the second half.

ASOS HQ is based in Mornington Crescent, North London at the striking Art Deco Greater London House, which started life as the Carreras cigarette factory in 1928. In 2016, the company said it would be creating 1,500 additional jobs at the site, which at the time already employed 2,500 staff.

It also said it was expanding its space within the iconic building by 40,000 sq ft at a cost of £40m and was adding a health club, training academy, quiet zone and tech bar, as well as a concierge service, for its staff.

The company was founded in 2000 by entrepreneur Nick Robinson and his then business partner Quentin Griffiths. Robertson handed the CEO reins to Beighton in 2016, however he remains on the board as a non-executive director.

To learn more about ASOS, read its in-depth profile containing key data and a news archive in our master database of fashion, The Intelligence.

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