ASOS names former Amazon man as chairman

British online fashion retailer ASOS said a former managing director of Amazon in the UK will be its new chairman as its seeks more growth overseas.

The retailer, which targets young women looking to emulate the designer looks of celebrities like Alexa Chung, Tulisa Contostavlos and Kate Moss, said on Monday Brian McBride would succeed Waheed Alli as chairman from November 1.

ASOS said in May that Alli would step down after 12 years with the firm.

McBride spent almost six years as Amazon's UK MD and prior to that held senior positions at IBM, Dell and T-Mobile.

"He has a wealth of relevant experience, not just in e-commerce and technology but in fast growth international businesses," said ASOS CEO Nick Robertson.

Last month ASOS said it would make year profit forecasts after it maintained a heady rate of sales growth in its fourth quarter, buoyed by strong trading in overseas markets such as the United States and Australia.

Shares in ASOS were down 0.7 percent at 2,183 pence at 0815 GMT, valuing the business at about 1.77 billion pounds ($2.86 billion). ($1 = 0.6193 British pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Paul Sandle)