Online fashion retailer ASOS has announced that chief executive and founder, Nick Robertson has stepped down, 15 years after he founded the business.
He will be replaced by the company’s chief operating officer Nick Beighton, although Mr Robertson will still remain on the board as a non-executive director.
Mr Beighton, joined ASOS in April of 2009 as chief financial officer and was appointed chief operating officer last year to widen his management responsibilities beyond finance. He is thought to have been groomed for the role since early last year and will take over running the company with immediate effect.
Brian McBride, chairman of ASOS, said: “We are fortunate to have such an able successor for the CEO role in Nick Beighton. Nick has unique experience of the company built over six years, equipping him to drive ASOS along its growth trajectory to become the world's leading online fashion retailer for 20 – somethings."
Mr McBride added "On behalf of everyone who works at ASOS, I'd like to acknowledge Nick Robertson's extraordinary achievement. His passion and vision have built a start-up into a world class company. We are all delighted that Nick will continue to contribute to the company that he started.”
ASOS was founded by Mr Robertson and his business partner Quentin Griffiths in 2000 when the pair had the idea to start an internet business for people to find clothing and accessories seen on celebrities. The company was named As Seen on Screen but this was later changed to ASOS from 2002 and in the year to 31st August 2014 the company saw its retail sales rise by 27% to £955.3 million.
Last month, ASOS reported that it had increased its retail sales again by 20% in the four months to 30 June 2015 and that the number of active customers had grown by 11% to 9.7 million.
