ASOS The Fast Fashion British Multi-Brand Online Retailer With Frasers Group Rises Stake 16.8%

The company’s share in the online platform’s capital increased from 10.5% to 16.8%. The previous deal took place just a few months earlier – at the beginning of June, according to the London Stock Exchange, Frasers Group owned 7.4% of Asos shares.

The group is now the third largest shareholder in the fashion retailer by investment . The remaining shares in Asos are owned by the hedge fund Camelot Capital Partners and Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who also owns the Danish holding company Bestseller.

Frasers Group continues to expand its portfolio of assets in the fashion segment, acquiring strategic stakes in famous brands. Thus, it owns shares in Mulberry and  Hugo Boss , and the group was previously a shareholder in French Connection and Debenhams. Frasers Group also increased its stake in Boohoo Group from 6.8% to 7.8% and invested in  the online multi-brand N Brown.

Meanwhile, Asos’ share price continues to fall as the retailer faces falling demand. The company has been taking steps to reform its business model and refinance its debt over the past year. In January, the online platform announced a cost-cutting programme . In May, it raised £75m from shareholders.

The company was founded in 2000 by Nick Robertson (born 1967) and Andrew Regan (born 1965), with contributions from Quentin Griffiths and Deborah Thorpe. The name, As Seen On Screen, reflected the company’s concept: a youth-oriented fast fashion retailer selling clothes that mimicked celebrity looks in films and on the red carpet, such as Brad Pitt’s red leather jacket from David Fincher’s 1999 film Fight Club.

In 2001, the company went public and is traded on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ASC.L. In  2003, by decision of the shareholders, the company’s name was changed to the abbreviation Asos.

In  2004, Asos reported its first profit and a doubling of sales in the first half of the year. That same year, the brand launched its own womenswear label.

In December 2005, a series of explosions and a fire at an oil storage facility in Buncefield, UK, destroyed around £5 million worth of stock at an Asos warehouse, forcing the company to close for six weeks. As well as the financial losses, the incident left the company struggling to restore its reputation and consumer trust.

In  2008, the retailer’s website began selling children’s clothing from its own collection and other brands. Due to the rapidly growing supply in this segment, the branded market experienced a decline, as a result of which in 2010 Asos abandoned the production and sale of clothing for children in order to focus on its core market – youth clothing.

In 2010, Asos launched online stores in France, Germany and the United States. That same year, the company created the Asos Marketplace platform, where boutiques, vintage collectors, individuals, designers, fashion startups and others were given the opportunity to independently sell their products.

In  2011, online stores were opened in Australia, Italy and Spain. In 2012, Asos continued to expand its international distribution by opening a branch in Sydney (Australia) and later in  New York (USA). In  2013, Asos online stores were launched in Russia and China.

During the 2014 Formula 1 season , Asos was a sponsor of the McLaren F1 Team.

In September 2015, founder Nick Robertson stepped down as Asos’ chief executive, and the position was taken over by former chief operating officer Nick Beighton. Since its launch in  2015, the company’s share price had risen from 20 pence to £30, the online retailer was valued at £2.4 billion ($3.7 billion), employed around 4,000 people and was the largest independent online retailer of clothing and accessories in the UK.

In 2016, Asos announced the launch of a women’s wedding wear collection at affordable prices from £60 to £250. The first Asos Bride capsule, consisting of 18 items with voluminous lace details, included pearl white , cream and  soft pink satin dresses and women’s suits.

That same year, the company settled trademark disputes with Swiss cycling clothing manufacturer Assos and German menswear retailer Anson’s Herrenhaus, paying out almost half of its annual profits – £20m. The deal obliged Asos not to open retail stores in Germany to avoid confusion with Anson’s, and allowed it to sell its own range of sportswear, excluding cycling clothing.

In  2017, the retailer expanded its menswear range by launching Plus and Tall sections for men with non-standard body shapes. The new sections featured clothing and accessories from its updated Asos Collection line, as well as products from over 20 other brands, including Burton, Noose & Monkey and Wrangler.

In  2018, the company began using augmented reality tools to show products on models with different body types.

In September 2020, the retailer presented its first sustainable collection , created in compliance with the principles of closed and cyclical production and consisting of 29 wardrobe items. It included denim items, oversized T-shirts, voluminous dresses with square necklines, cargo pants , cardigans, belt bags, etc., presented in a palette of brown and lilac shades and in neutral tones.

That same year, Asos launched a new brand of affordable, glamorous casual and evening women’s clothing, As You, aimed at millennials.

In late January 2021, Asos acquired the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, and HIIT brands from bankrupt retailer Arcadia Group for £295 million ($411 million). In July of the same year, American department store chain Nordstrom bought Asos’ stake in the brands from the Arcadia portfolio with the intention of returning the brands to physical retail.

In 2021, the company announced a sustainability program called Fashion with Integrity, which pledged to decarbonize all business processes in the supply chain and to make its own products and packaging from more sustainable alternatives or recycled materials by 2030. In addition, according to the program, by 2030, at least 50% of the workforce at every level of Asos management must be women and more than 15% from ethnic minorities.

That same year, Nick Beighton left his position as CEO of Asos, and the company’s CFO, Mat Dunn, was appointed acting CEO.

In June 2022, José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, a former commercial director who previously worked at McKinsey, Inditex, Esprit, Carrefour and Salsa Jeans, took over the company. The new CEO was tasked with overcoming the looming crisis associated with the decline in consumer demand in the context of the economic crisis.

In June, the retailer presented a new circular collection consisting of 47 items of men’s, women’s and  unisex clothing , accessories, and jewelry made from brass waste.

In July 2022, the UK Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation into allegations of greenwashing practices by the company.