Asos faces hit of up to £8m from cyber attack putting a dent in its turnaround efforts

Updated: 06:37 EDT, 5 November 2026 Fast fashion brand Asos has suggested sales were hit by up to £8 million after last month’s cyber hack - denting momentum behind a turnaround.The online retailer said the attack - which took place nearly a month ago and saw customers alerted to a breach through the Asos mobile app - had hit group sales by around 2 to 4 per cent in October.It suggests the attack has shaved between £4 million and £8 million off sales.But bosses were eager to claim that the impact would be ‘temporary’ and that Asos is pushing ahead with a revival plan. Chief executive Jose Antonio Ramos said the impact had ‘dissipated’ in November.The fashion retailer said authorities were still investigating after an ‘unauthorised party accessed some basic customer data.' Last month, users of its app received a notification with a message titled 'ASOS HACKED', that read: 'Dear Asos DPO and IT, we have fully compromised the Snowflake instance. Engage with us, or we will leak it.' Asos fell victim to a cyber attack just as it was hoping to win over the City with proof a revival plan is workingWhile customer names and contact details appear to have been stolen, Asos said no payment information or passwords had been compromised.The retailer enjoyed booming business during the Covid lockdowns, but has struggled in the years since due to waning demand, rising costs and greater competition from the likes of ultra-cheap Chinese behemoth Shein.It has tried to stem the decline by ridding itself of excess stock and clamping down on returns, even taking steps to ban customers from its platform. Earlier this year, it sold its Lichfield warehouse ​to rival Marks & Spencer for £66million.Retailer M&S fell victim to a hack last year that saw its shops left with empty shelves and its website down for six weeks. Harrods and Co-op were also attacked in a wave of cyber crime.Fears around cyber security still loom large as European supermarkets, including in France and Belgium, have had their refrigerator systems hacked and the temperatures turned to high heats.Ramos said that cybersecurity is ‘one of the areas where we are always putting a lot of focus and a lot of emphasis, and we have always been investing in it.’He added: ‘So it's not that what happened last year was a wake up call for us or anything like that. We've always been investing.’‘My concern is protecting our consumers and giving them confidence that Asos is the right place to buy.’Attempting to brush aside worries around cybersecurity, the retailer pointed to signs of green shoots in its turnaround.It swung back into the black for the year to 30 August, with £24.4million profits against losses of £281.6 million the previous year.And it said sales returned to growth for the first time in four years over the final three months of this period.And it said sales will grow by a low-single-digit range in the year to August 2027, compared to a 5 per cent fall in the previous year.Ramos said ranges that were doing well at the moment include lace, satin, and sheer fabrics.Mark Crouch, market analyst at trading platform Etoro, said: ‘Asos is beginning to look like a fashion retailer with a future again, rather than one permanently clearing up the mistakes of its past. 'Years of painful restructuring are finally producing results, with healthier margins, returning customers and the first quarterly sales growth since 2022 suggesting its long-awaited recovery is gaining substance.’DIY INVESTING PLATFORMSAJ BellAJ BellEasy investing and ready-made portfoliosHargreaves LansdownHargreaves LansdownFree fund dealing and investment ideasinteractive investorinteractive investorFlat-fee investing from £4.99 per monthFreetradeFreetradeInvesting Isa now free on basic planTrading 212Trading 212Free share dealing and no account feeAffiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.Compare the best investing account for you