Quentin Griffiths, the co-founder of the online fashion retailer Asos, has died after falling from an apartment building in the Thai resort city of Pattaya.
An unnamed police investigator told the BBC that officers were called after a man was found dead on 9 February, having fallen from an 18-floor condominium in Pattaya, which is on Thailand’s eastern Gulf coast.
Griffiths, a 58-year-old British passport holder, was by himself, the investigator said, and an autopsy did not suggest any foul play. Nor was there was no trace of any break-ins at the time of the death.
The retail entrepreneur co-founded Asos with Nick Robertson, the great-grandson of the eponymous founder of the suit retailer Austin Reed, in London in 2000. The company launched with the name As Seen on Screen, before switching to the Asos acronym in 2002. It expanded to become one of the world’s biggest fashion retailers, with its designs worn by Rihanna and Michelle Obama. Griffiths left the company in 2005.
He went on to pursue several other startups, co-founding the online furniture store Achica, the music-related fashion retailer EBTM, and Adili, an ethical clothing website. EBTM went into administration, while Adili was eventually sold for a token £1.
Thai police told the BBC that Griffiths was involved in two court cases, which may have caused him stress.