Topshop owner ASOS reveals another board appointment

The former Calvin Klein marketing boss is the latest appointee to ASOS’ board of directors.

Marie Gulin-Merle will join the online clothing brand as a non-executive director from the beginning of February next year, where she will, among other things, be a member of the remuneration committee.

The Paris-born executive is currently Google’s global vice president of advertising marketing, a position she joined three years ago after an 18-month stint at Calvin Klein.

Prior to that, she worked for more than a decade at L’Oréal, the world’s largest cosmetics company, eventually rising to senior marketing officer in the United States.

Jørgen Lindemann, Chairman of ASOS, commented: ‘Marie joins us with deep relevant industry knowledge in international e-commerce, marketing, beauty and brands.’

Her appointment comes a week after ASOS announced that Wei Gao, the chief operating officer of teleconferencing platform Hopin, would also become a non-executive director of the clothing retailer.

Gao is a former executive at retail giant Amazon, once holding the position of “shadow” advisor to Jeff Bezos, a highly influential role that saw him accompany the tycoon everywhere he went.

Such a job is often regarded as a springboard to higher positions in business. Andy Jassy, ​​Amazon’s current CEO, previously held the position.

After Gao stepped down as a shadow consultant, she spent time as the retailer’s vice president of supermarket technology, product and supply chain, a period that coincided with the first half of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tough times: The Topshop owner recently plummeted to its first annual loss in two decades as the cost of living drove consumers to cut back on clothing spending

During this time, Amazon’s overall sales skyrocketed, while profits and shares reached record levels as strict lockdown restrictions prompted customers to make a higher proportion of their purchases online.

ASOS also saw an increase in business and revenue due to the temporary closure of clothing stores in multiple countries, including the UK.

Pre-tax profits more than quadrupled to £142.1m in 2020 and grew a further 25 per cent the following year to £177.1m as shoppers gobbled up much more sportswear and casual wear.

However, in the year to August 2022, the FTSE 250 group plummeted to its first annual loss in two decades as the cost of living crisis led consumers to cut back on clothing spending.

Commerce was further affected by the company selling more inventory at discounted prices and an increase in the number of people returning purchased items.

Amid the slump in sales, the fast-fashion retailer is under scrutiny by regulators for its products’ “eco-friendly and sustainability claims.”

Cash flow also came under more pressure after credit insurer Allianz decided to cut cover for its suppliers by more than half.

And three weeks ago, chief financial officer Katy Mecklenburgh announced she would move to computer and software reseller Softcat in mid-2023, even though she didn’t join the company until November.

These issues have been sent ASOS shares dropped by more than three-quarters in the past 12 months. On Thursday, they fell 3.2 percent to 497 pence.