// Asos close to replacing Nick Beighton as CEO
// Chief commercial officer José Antonio Ramos Calamonte is being considered for the job
Asos is close to appointing a new chief executive following Nick Beighton’s departure last year.
The online fast fashion retailer is lining up current chief commercial officer José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, a former exec at Zara-owner Inditex, for the top job, according to the Sunday Times.
Calamonte joined Asos last year from Portuguese fashion firm Salsa Jeans, where he was chief executive for almost two years.
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Beighton left Asos in October after telling Asos’ board he would not lead its expansion abroad.
Asos witnessed the loss of over a third of its value since Beighton’s resignation after slow trading.
The fashion giant recently launched a trial partnership with Thrift+ which means customers will be able to request a free Asos x Thrift+ bag and send their unwanted clothes to the resale platform to be sold.
They’ll then receive credits that can either be converted into vouchers for both Asos and other retailers, used to buy pre-loved clothing on site, or donated to charity.
Initially, 30,000 bags will be available in the trial, by which Asos intends to collect learnings on what items are sent in most often and feed it back to their design teams.
Asos commercial design and visual director Vanessa Spence said: “To have a successful commercial future, the fashion industry needs to be both sustainable and circular.
“Over the past few years, we’ve been working with our partners and experts to discover how we can be more circular – one of our new 2030 Fashion with Integrity goals.
“The launch of our second circular design collection, which uses innovative new materials and takes our circular design criteria one step further, is a great moment for us as we continue to develop our expertise in this area.
“Of course, design is just one piece of the circular puzzle – and to be truly circular, products must pass through circular systems as well as meet our circular design criteria. While resale is just one such system, we’re proud to be launching a new trial in collaboration with Thrift+ today, to extend the life of products by enabling them to easily and conveniently be resold.”
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