UK Fashion Group ASOS Names New Finance Boss
British online fashion retailer ASOS on Tuesday named Aaron Izzard, director of group finance, as its new CFO as the current finance boss, Dave Murray, will be stepping down on June 30 to pursue other opportunities.
Murray, a former Amazon executive who joined ASOS as CFO in April 2024, will remain with the company for a handover period, ASOS said.
Izzard, who joined ASOS as head of retail finance in 2017, has held several finance roles at the company over more than eight years. His appointment will be effective July 1.
Since the end of April 2024, when Murray took up the role of CFO, ASOS shares are down roughly 8% as of Monday's close.
ASOS is navigating a changing competitive landscape, with rivals Shein and Temu gaining ground in its core markets of the UK and the United States in recent years.
However, the British retailer could benefit from new headwinds facing its Chinese competitors, including high US import tariffs under President Donald Trump and changes to customs rules on direct-to-consumer shipments in both countries.
In April, ASOS said it was well-positioned to withstand the impact of the US tariffs and reported a rise in half-year earnings, signaling early progress in efforts to revive its fast-fashion appeal among younger shoppers.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
China's Xi in Kazakhstan to cement ties
ASTANA: Xi Jinping celebrated China's 'eternal friendship' with Central Asia at a summit in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, as the Chinese leader blasted tariffs and sought to assert Beijing's influence in a region historically dominated by Russia. The summit in Astana brought together Xi with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Under Russia's orbit until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the five Central Asian states have courted interest from major powers including China, the European Union and the US since becoming independent. At the summit, the group signed a pact of 'eternal' friendship as Xi called for closer ties with the resource-rich region. 'We should ... strengthen cooperation with a more enterprising attitude and more practical measures,' said Xi in comments carried by state news agency Xinhua. Central Asia is also seen as a key logistics hub, given its strategic location between China, Russia, the Middle East and Europe. While Central Asian leaders continue to view Russia as a strategic partner, ties with Moscow have loosened since the war in Ukraine. China has also shown willingness to invest in massive infrastructure projects in the region, part of its Belt and Road initiative that uses such financing as a political and diplomatic lever. In a meeting with Kyrgyzstan's president, Xi called for moves to 'advance high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and foster new drivers of growth in clean energy, green minerals and artificial intelligence.' The five Central Asian nations are trying to take advantage of the growing interest in their region and are coordinating their foreign policies accordingly. They regularly hold summits with China and Russia to present the region as a unified bloc and attract investment. High-level '5+1' format talks have also been organized with the European Union, the United States, Turkiye and other Western countries. 'The countries of the region are balancing between different centers of power, wanting to protect themselves from excessive dependence on one partner,' Kyrgyz political scientist Nargiza Muratalieva told AFP. China has now established itself as Central Asia's leading trading partner, far outstripping the EU and Russia. Construction of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway and the China-Tajikistan highway, which runs through the Pamir Mountains to Afghanistan, are among its planned investments. New border crossings and 'dry ports' have already been built to process trade, such as Khorgos in Kazakhstan, one of the largest logistics hubs in the world. 'Neither Russia nor Western institutions are capable of allocating financial resources for infrastructure so quickly and on such a large scale, sometimes bypassing transparent procedures,' said Muratalieva. Kazakhstan said last week that Russia would lead the construction of its first nuclear power plant but that it wanted China to build the second. 'Central Asia is rich in natural resources such as oil, gas, uranium, gold and other minerals that the rapidly developing Chinese economy needs,' Muratalieva said. 'Ensuring uninterrupted supplies of these resources, bypassing unstable sea routes, is an important goal of Beijing,' the analyst added.
Arab News
9 hours ago
- Arab News
UK slaps new sanctions on Russia shadow fleet
LONDON: The UK on Tuesday tightened its sanctions on Russia's so-called shadow fleet, slapping bans on 20 more ships and blacklisting 10 other people or bodies involved in energy and shipping. Security analysts say the fleet of aging vessels is used by Russia to circumvent international sanctions that ban it from selling oil. Hundreds of vessels have now been sanctioned by the European Union and the UK since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The UK's new additions to its assets freeze list include the Orion Star group and Rosneft Marine (UK), both said to be significant to Russia's energy sector, as well as the deep-sea research unit at the Russian defense ministry. Although Russia's economy has not collapsed under the sanctions, officials insist they are having an impact. 'Russia's economy is slowing and the Kremlin has been forced to make increasingly painful trade-offs to support its war effort,' Downing Street said in a statement. It claimed the sanctions imposed in the last three years 'have deprived Russia of at least $450 billion.' 'By one estimate, that's equivalent to around two more years of funding for the invasion,' it added. The UK alone has sanctioned over 2,300 individuals, entities and ships since the start of the invasion. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he wanted to hone the new sanctions with Britain's other G7 partners meeting this week in Canada. 'We should take this moment to increase economic pressure and show President Putin it is in his — and Russia's interests — to demonstrate he is serious about peace.' With peace talks stalling, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had hoped to press US counterpart Donald Trump to step up sanctions on Russia at the G7 summit. But as the conflict between Iran and Israel escalated, Trump left the summit early without meeting Zelensky, saying he had 'big stuff' to do in Washington. And he has proved reluctant about new sanctions. The EU has imposed 18 rounds of sanctions on Russia. Downing Street said 'new information' showed Western were creating 'significant challenges' for Russian state enterprises, including funding shortfalls, delays in major projects, and growing debt due to high interest rates.
Arab News
15 hours ago
- Arab News
World oil demand to keep growing this decade despite 2027 China peak, IEA says
LONDON: Global oil demand will keep growing until around the end of this decade despite peaking in top importer China in 2027, as cheaper gasoline and slower electric vehicle adoption in the United States support oil use, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. The IEA, which advises industrialized countries, did not change its prediction that demand will peak this decade, a view that sharply contrasts with that of producer group the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which says consumption will keep growing and has not forecast a peak. Oil demand will peak at 105.6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2029 and then fall slightly in 2030, a table in the Paris-based IEA's annual report shows. At the same time, global production capacity is forecast to rise by more than 5 million bpd to 114.7 million bpd by 2030. A conflict between Israel and Iran has highlighted the risk to Middle East supplies, helping send oil prices up 5 percent to above $74 a barrel on Friday. Still, the latest forecasts suggest ample supplies through 2030 if there are no major disruptions, the IEA said. 'Based on the fundamentals, oil markets look set to be well-supplied in the years ahead,' said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in a statement. 'But recent events sharply highlight the significant geopolitical risks to oil supply security,' Birol said. After decades of leading global oil demand growth, China's contribution is sputtering as it faces economic challenges as well as making a big shift to EVs. The world's second-largest economy is set to see its oil consumption peak in 2027, following a surge in EV sales and the deployment of high-speed rail and trucks running on natural gas, the IEA said. In February, it predicted China's demand for road and air transport fuels may have already peaked. China's total oil consumption in 2030 is now set to be only marginally higher than in 2024, the IEA said, compared with growth of around 1 million bpd forecast in last year's report. By contrast, lower gasoline prices and slower EV adoption in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, have boosted the 2030 oil demand forecast by 1.1 million bpd compared with the previous prediction, the IEA said. Since returning to office, US President Donald Trump has demanded OPEC lower oil prices and taken aim at EVs through steps such as signing resolutions approved by lawmakers barring California's EV sales mandates.
