// Secret Sales hires ex-Asos CEO Nick Beighton as chairman
// Beighton joins as Secret Sales marks year-on-year growth of over 150%
Secret Sales has hired Asos’ former chief executive Nick Beighton as its chairman amid talks to boost expansion plans.
Beighton joins as Secret Sales marks year-on-year growth of over 150% after “solving the legacy problem of excess stock”.
Beighton, who spent more than a decade at Asos initially as chief financial officer, said the Secret Sales proposition is “game-changing”.
READ MORE: Asos lines up ex-Zara exec for CEO job
“Secret Sales is nothing short of a game-changer for the fashion and beauty industry,” Beighton said.
“For too long, excess stock has been seen in terms of cash recovery using clearance channels that erode the brand. But with Secret Sales, the industry finally has access to a positive strategy for non-full-price inventory.
“Businesses using Secret Sales can now make significant margin, attract new customers for their own full price sales and maintain their brand equity through a simple, elegant and sustainable off-price solution that’s does not impact the retailers own full price strategy. That is a huge deal for anyone in sector and the scope for growth is astronomical.”
Asos said on Monday it is lining up current chief commercial officer José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, a former exec at Zara-owner Inditex, to replace Beighton.
Calamonte joined Asos last year from Portuguese fashion firm Salsa Jeans, where he was chief executive for almost two years.
Beighton left Asos in October after telling Asos’ board he would not lead its expansion abroad.
Secret Sales currently has operations in the UK, Netherlands and Belgium and plans to expand to a further 12 international territories over the next two years.
Secret Sales chief executive Chris Griffin said: “I am delighted that Nick is joining Secret Sales. He has a wealth of experience from his time at Asos in building a global ecommerce fashion retailer.
“This is highly relevant as Secret Sales continues its journey to be the world’s largest marketplace for non-full-price fashion. Nick is a natural choice for Secret Sales because he understands the critical problem we are solving for the sector. Before Secret Sales Marketplace, there wasn’t a fully joined-up proposition for turning non-full-price stock into a boardroom positive.
“Secret Sales offers a unique solution and Nick and I will work to deliver huge international growth.”
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
