ASOS hails star clothing ranges

Online retailer ASOS moved into the black today as consumers displayed a growing appetite for celebrity fashion and internet shopping.

The London-based group added 140,000 new customers and saw annual sales rise by 84% on the back of clothing ranges in the style of icons such as Kate Moss and Jamelia.

Pre-tax profits before goodwill of £625,000 (€931,000) were ahead of analysts’ expectations and in contrast to losses of £101,000 (€150,400) at the end of 2002.

ASOS – which stands for As Seen On Screen – sells “star style and celebrity fashion” where shoppers can get the look of idols such as model Jordan and actress Cameron Diaz.

New ranges are expected to provide a platform for growth over the coming year and a tie-up with pop queens Girls Aloud means a discount voucher for ASOS will be included with each of their chart singles.

Chief executive Nick Robertson said the company’s loss-making days were over and independent research showed fashion to be the fastest-growing sector online.

“With so much untapped potential in terms of both product offer and potential customer base, I am confident we can continue to generate significant growth,” he said.

Sales between April and June were 83% ahead of a year ago and the number of registered users of the website increased by 13% to 340,000 during the same period.

Target customers are in the 16-34 age bracket and the group has strengthened its menswear ranges, while seeking to introduce jewellery and footwear.

This strategy aims to treble the number of lines available to 1500 over the next 18 months.

Retail analyst Rhys Williams, of stockbrokers Seymour Pierce, said pre-tax profits should double to £1.35m (€2m) over the coming 12 months.

“We believe that ASOS is sitting pretty on the crest of the wave and should continue to benefit from the growth in internet retail sales,” he said.

Research by Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) forecast that one in four retail purchases in the UK will be made online by 2009, compared with one in 24 last year. It also found that 27% of British consumers had now shopped online.

Online sales in the UK are forecast to grow by 54% to £16.9bn (€25.2bn) this year - boosted by an increase in the number of homes with broadband internet access.