THIS ANNOUNCEMENT INCLUDES INSIDE INFORMATION

25 January 2021

ASOS plc

Statement in relation to media speculation regarding Arcadia assets

ASOS plc notes recent media speculation and confirms that it is in exclusive discussions with the Administrators of Arcadia over the acquisition of the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands. The Board believes this would represent a compelling opportunity to acquire strong brands that resonate well with its customer base. However, at this stage, there can be no certainty of a transaction and ASOS will keep shareholders updated as appropriate. Any acquisition would be funded from cash reserves. 

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The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of ASOS is Anna Suchopar, General Counsel and Company Secretary.

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Background note

ASOS, a UK-based AIM-listed business, is an online retailer for fashion-loving 20-somethings around the world, with a purpose to give its customers the confidence to be whoever they want to be. Through its market-leading app and mobile/desktop web experience, available in ten languages and in over 200 markets, ASOS customers can shop a curated edit of 85,000 products, sourced from 850 of the best global and local third-party brands and its mix of fashion-led in-house labels including ASOS Design, ASOS 4504, and its Venture Brands, Collusion and AsYou. ASOS aims to give all of its customers a truly frictionless experience, with an ever-greater number of different payment methods and hundreds of local deliveries and returns options, including Next-Day and Same-Day Delivery, dispatched from state-of-the-art fulfilment centres in the UK, Germany and the US.

In early January 2021, ASOS revealed that it will invest £90m in a brand-new state-of-the-art fulfilment centre in Lichfield, Staffordshire, with a plan to employ 2,000 people at the site over the next three years, adding to the 7,000 people it already directly employs in the UK. A week later, it announced its results for the first four months of its financial year. Over the period, the company delivered a 23% year-on-year growth in sales and revenues of £1.364bn. These results were underpinned by a strong sales performance across all geographies and a 1.1m increase in active customers to 24.5m people.