ASOS has dropped out of the FTSE 250 following the FTSE Russell’s September 2025 quarterly review. The British online fashion retailer was valued at £7 billion in 2021 but is now worth closer to £320 million.
Why has this happened?
Sales for ASOS boomed during the start of the pandemic, due to its competitively-priced stock and fast delivery model, but dwindled rapidly once the physical high street opened up to shoppers once more. The company has worked hard to reposition itself within the competitive affordable fashion landscape but has been hit by a number of competing forces.
Although online fashion sales outstripped the high street last year, with sales up 3% to £34 billion, according to Mintel, the market is highly competitive – and ASOS has found itself competing on the one hand with ultra-low-cost online retailers such as Shein and Temu, and on the other hand with preloved fashion marketplaces such as Vinted and Depop. Having positioned itself within the Gen Z demographic – fashion-forward yet with limited disposable income – ASOS bought iconic ‘90s high street brands Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT in 2021 from the administrator of Arcadia Group for approximately £265 million (absorbing the brands but not their physical shops), plus an additional £65 million for current and pre-ordered stock.
By late 2022, it was struggling with CEO change, following Nick Beighton’s resignation, and a steep drop in share price. The Ukraine war led to the decision to stop selling into Russia. Sales declined sharply in 2023 and fell 12% year-on-year in 2024 amid cost-of-living pressures. Analysts pointed to the company’s dwindling relevance among Gen Z and millennial buyers.
Will it return to the FTSE 250?
There have been signs of a turnaround. In 2024, ASOS sold 75% of the Topshop and Topman brands to Heartland for £135 million, retaining a 25% share in the business. A new commercial model was introduced in early 2025 that emphasised tighter inventory control, reduced discounting and improved profitability. New CFO (formerly director of group finance) Aaron Izzard took over financial leadership in June 2025, replacing Dave Murray, who was in the role for just 14 months.
However, there’s no doubt that the fall from the FTSE 250 is another blow for the business. AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth told investment fund news site Trustnet that it was a “blow to the company’s reputation”, adding: “ASOS moved from AIM to the main market in February 2022 with the aim of enhancing its corporate profile and recognition, as well as attracting a broader group of institutional shareholders.”
ASOS is at a critical juncture. Whether current chief executive José Antonio Ramos Calamonte and Aaron Izzard can steer the company back to growth remains to be seen. In the meantime, it’s clear that the fast fashion giant must adapt quickly if it hopes to regain investor confidence and reclaim its place among the UK’s top listed companies.
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