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It’s been just shy of three months since Asos, the British online clothing company, said it would look into hiring a restructuring expert after the departure of its CFO. The clothing brand was in a rut; the company announced last month that its share price was down 57% over the past year and the holiday shopping season was a letdown.
The company brought in Scott Millar, senior managing director at Ankura Consulting Group, to overhaul the business. Ankura, which markets itself as a firm able to “protect, create, and recover value,” is known for its restructuring expertise, with a client list that includes Brooks Brothers, Payless ShoeSource, and, currently, Forma Brands.
This isn’t Millar’s first time restructuring a failing business; previously he was the chief restructuring officer at Interserve, an outsourcing firm, in 2019.
And despite CFO Brew speculating that Asos was saving money by taking on a restructuring expert’s salary, rather than a more expensive finance chief, the clothing firm managed to get yet another interim CFO on board. In February, the firm announced that it had appointed Sean Glithero as interim finance chief. The fear of commitment in the British fashion world with a permanent CFO is almost worse than modern dating, apparently.
90-Day Report Card:
- Made headlines: Yes
- Cost cutting: Yes, gone with the office space!
- Apologized to investors: No
- Done earnings calls: Not yet, last trading statement on January 12—KT