The online shop’s sales increased dramatically. Profits tripledand popularity skyrocketed as people clicked into their shopping carts from home.
Then the company was faced with reality. Supply chain problems, a stock price collapse and financial woes became all too real – and now, as the retailer tries to turn its business around, it’s requiring its employees to report to the office more often.
Asos, which operates a sprawling online retail business, has warned its employees that virtual meetings have a “detrimental” impact on the company’s performance and are a “burden” to the entire business, according to the Times of London reported, citing internal correspondence on Wednesday.
The UK-based company, which also owns Topshop, is now insisting that its staff adhere to the return-to-work rule, which requires them to be in the office at least three days a week. This will allow employees to participate in projects, brainstorming sessions and other business meetings in person.
Asos added that there is a “very real need” for people to touch and feel clothes, which is “virtually impossible”.
Many companies that gave employees flexibility during the pandemic have since backed away from their policies to lure people back into the office. From technology to banking, this trend is seen across industries. Zoomthe video conferencing platform – ordered its employees back to the office twice a week last year.
In the case of Asos, the memo, which cracks down on employees seeking to assert themselves through flexible working policies, comes at a crucial time as the company seeks to restructure its business amid deep losses.
At the end of 2020, the then CEO of Asos, Nick Beighton, said The Evening Standard that working from home was “no better” than working in the office because “you just can’t replicate the camaraderie, creativity and energy you get from working together.” It is unclear how many Asos employees have broken the three-day minimum office attendance rule.
Asos representatives did not return immediately AssetsPlease leave a comment.
The turning point of suffering
Shares in the once popular London-listed company have become the most shorted stock in the UK as investors fear the price could fall even further. The company’s shares have lost 10 percent of their value in the last year and 88 percent in the last five years.
Asos reported an 18% drop in sales and a 37% higher pre-tax loss of £120 million ($150 million) for the six months to March 3, 2024, compared to a year earlier. Competition has also intensified as cheaper retailers such as Shein and Temu flood the market, putting pressure on Asos to get its business in order.
Under CEO Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte, the company has tried various measures to get its business back on its feet. Asos announced a shareholder debt restructuring worth £80 million ($100 million) in May, in addition to £275 million (US$349 million) from lender Bantry Bay Capital.
On the operational side, Calamonte also Capacity reduction and has reduced Asos’ inventory through deep discounts and cost cutting.
When announcing its half-year results in April, Asos expressed confidence that it could turn things around next year. next financial year when all his efforts bore fruit.
“Asos is becoming a faster and more agile company,” Calamonte said in a statement at the time.