ASOS sales soar on celebrity trends

Internet retailer ASOS today said Sienna Miller’s “Boho Chic” look had helped drive a 70% hike in Christmas sales.

The London-based business said customers had been snapping up false fur boots and waistcoats as they copied fashion trends worn by celebrities such as Miller and Kate Moss.

This helped like-for-like sales soar 70% between November 1 and December 31, leaving sales for the nine months to December 31 69% ahead at £9.4m (€13.5m).

ASOS, which stands for As Seen On Screen, sells “celebrity fashion” where shoppers can get the look of their idols, such as the baby doll tops favoured by Emma Bunton.

Chief executive Nick Robertson said Sienna Miller – who is to promote a range of clothing by Marks & Spencer – had created this season’s popular look.

He said: “All of these girls – Jamelia, Paris Hilton, Sienna Miller, have to get dressed up. That’s the way they get noticed and that’s what dictates what our customers wear.”

The company's new jewellery and beauty departments made "significant" contributions to the sales hike.

ASOS said it was confident about its continued growth and that profits would be in line with market expectations.

A total of 972,000 customers shopped on the ASOS website in December, up from 471,000 in December 2003.

The company said investment in its buying team was reaping rewards and that a move to a new warehouse by June would bring further operational efficiencies.

Analyst Richard Ratner at stockbroker Seymour Pierce said he was still expecting annual pre-tax profits of £1.6m (€2.3m), compared with £600,000 (€860,400) last year.

ASOS offers around 1,600 lines across womenswear, lingerie, menswear, jewellery, accessories, footwear and beauty.

Its main customers are 18 to 34-year-olds. More than a third of its customers are in London and the South East, 14% in the Midlands and 13% in Yorkshire and the North East.

Research has shown that 16 million people shop online in the UK and that clothing is the fastest-growing shopping category on the web with sales rising five-fold over the past three years.

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