Ex-ASOS chief Beighton is new Secret Sales chairman - report

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 6, 2022

On a day when there was plenty of top UK executive news, a report on Monday said that former ASOS CEO Nick Beighton is joining Secret Sales as chairman.

Sky News reported that Beighton has taken up the role at the off-price e-tailer as it continues the growth programme that has seen it expanding abroad, adding large numbers of new brands and making a raft of leadership team appointments.

An official announcement about his appointment “will be made this week”, it added.

The company has claimed sales growth of 150%+ in the last year and has seen a flurry of activity since being acquired by retail entrepreneurs Chris Griffin and Matt Purt a little over two years ago.

It’s become something of a go-to platform for upscale brands seeking to monetise surplus stock but to also keep control over pricing and branding.

Sky News quoted Beighton — who left ASOS last year after over a decade at the firm — saying Secret Sales is “game-changing” in that it doesn’t just see excess stock “in terms of cash recovery using clearance channels that erode the brand”. He called it a “simple, elegant and sustainable off-price solution that does not impact the retailer's own full-price strategy”.

As mentioned, Secret sales has been expanding internationally, moving from its UK base to launch in Belgium and the Netherlands with 12 more markets due over the next two years.

CEO Griffin aims to make it “the world's largest marketplace for non-full-price fashion”.