// Asos hires José Antonio Ramos Calamonte in newly-created role of chief commercial officer
// He joins from Portuguese fashion company Salsa Jeans, where he held the position of CEO
// Calamonte also led on commercial strategy for retailers Esprit, Carrefour Spain and Inditex
Asos has appointed a new chief commercial officer in an effort to ensure the company has “the strategic capability required for the next stage of growth”.
The online retailer has drafted in José Antonio Ramos Calamonte in the newly-created role.
Calamonte joins from Portuguese fashion company, Salsa Jeans, where he held the position of chief executive for almost two years.
READ MORE: Asos full year sales up almost 20% to £3.26bn
Prior to this, Calamonte led on commercial strategy for retailers including Esprit, Carrefour Spain and Inditex during a 23 year career.
He also has multichannel experience, having worked across both online and physical retail, with expertise in trading, merchandising, price, and promotion.
Calamonte will join office on January 4.
In his new role at Asos, he will be responsible for leading and driving its product and trading strategy globally, encompassing design, sourcing, garment technology, buying and merchandising, global trading, studios and creative.
He will oversee product, category and range strategy, pricing and margin, own-label product innovation, and brand partnerships, leading a team of more than 1000 staff.
“I’m pleased to welcome José Antonio to our expanding executive team,” Asos chief executive Nick Beighton said.
“His extensive commercial experience overseeing a wide range of disciplines will be an indispensable asset for us, and we’re excited to have him on board as we continue the next stage of our journey.”
Calamonte added: “I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to join such a unique company in Asos and apply my experience to an organisation that is renowned for its innovation and dynamism.
“The scale of the role, the quality of the team and the excitement around Asos’ growth plans were simply unmissable.”
Calamonte will join the senior management team led by Beighton, which includes fellow executive members Mat Dunn, chief financial officer; Mark Holland, chief operating officer; Cliff Cohen, chief information officer; Robert Birge, chief growth officer; Jo Butler, chief people officer; and Patrik Silén, chief strategy officer.
Last month, Asos reported a 19 per cent year-on-year growth in revenues to £3.26 billion with profit before tax rising more than 300 per cent to £142.1 million for the year ending August 31.
In the 12 months to August 31, Asos saw its active customer base grow by 3.1 million people to 23.4 million, citing momentum in custom acquisition.
Looking ahead, Asos said it was prepared for the peak trading period with its warehouse capacity operating at normal levels whilst maintaining social distancing.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
