Asos confirms Kate Bostock to join firm
Online fashion retailer Asos has confirmed it has hired Kate Bostock, the recently departed head of general merchandise at Marks and Spencer.
In a widely rumoured move, she will join the fast-growing company as head of product and trading from January.
Ms Bostock is considered one of the most powerful women in British retail, having previously worked at Next and Asda's George, before starting at M&S.
Asos was founded in 2000, and currently has more than five million customers.
"Asos is a phenomenon and I'm in awe of the story," said Ms Bostock.
"With its unique mix of own label and fashion forward brands delivered online and increasingly through mobile, the potential for Asos globally is huge. I'm very excited to be joining at such a time of immense opportunity."
Ms Bostock will replace Rob Bready, who as product director for the last seven years has helped lift Asos' sales to about £500m.
Her departure from M&S in the summer followed a run of poor trading figures. Her departure coincided with chief executive Marc Bolland's appointment of Belinda Earl, the former head of Debenhams, Jaeger and Aquascutum, as M&S style director from 1 September.
Asos was unable to announce her new position until October, as Ms Bostock remained under contract at M&S.