Asos appoints new commercial chief, signs global payments partnership

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Nov 5, 2020

Digital fashion giant Asos has been busy on two fronts, announcing on Thursday a major new executive appointment and a partnership to launch a new international payments system.

First the important new post. José Antonio Ramos Calamonte takes up the newly-created role of chief commercial officer on January 4 as part of a series of newly-created roles “designed to further strengthen its executive team”.

He will be responsible for leading and driving product and trading strategy globally, “encompassing design, sourcing, garment technology, buying and merchandising, global trading, Studios and creative”.

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He will oversee product, category and range strategy, pricing and margin, own-label product innovation, and brand partnerships, leading a team of more than 1,000 people, Asos said.
 
Calamonte joins from Portuguese fashion company, Salsa Jeans, where he held the position of chief executive officer for almost two years. Prior to this, he led on commercial strategy for major brands including Esprit, Carrefour Spain and Inditex during a “results-driven” 23-year career.

Asos CEO Nick Beighton said: “Antonio’s extensive commercial experience overseeing a wide range of disciplines will be an indispensable asset for us”.
 
Calamonte added: "The scale of the role, the quality of the team and the excitement around ASOS' growth plans were simply unmissable".

Meanwhile, Asos has signed a new global payments partner. Apexx Global has been appointed “to increase customer conversion at lower cost and satisfy entire payment needs across global markets”.

Apexx will coordinate and manage the authorisation, processing and optimisation of transactions via a Payment Orchestration Layer.

Asos said: “With more than 60% of [our] sales now generated from international markets, optimising international payments is increasingly important.

"Apexx helps clients increase cross-border revenues and maximise payments authorisation rates through local processing, as well as reducing costs of acceptance through their intelligent transaction routing engine, ultimately benefiting consumers as well as retailers”.