Asos bucks gloomy retail trend again

Asos bucks gloomy retail trend again

The allure of black high-shine leggings, popularised by stars such as Kate Moss, has helped online fashion retailer Asos buck

the gloomy economic trend yet again.

Leggings were Asos's top sellers over the Christmas trading period, contributing to a 118% year-on-year increase in sales for

the nine weeks to 16 January and enabling the firm to say it expects its profits for the year to end March to be "in line"

with expectations.

"We are the two things that are faring better at the moment: the internet and younger fashion," explained chief executive

Nick Robertson. "We tick both the boxes."

Over the 42 weeks to 16 January the company saw sales rise 108% as it used a number of promotions including free delivery

weekends to attract more customers. By last week Asos had 1.2 million active users, people who have bought something from the

site in the past six months, up 112% on a year ago.

Roughly half its customers are under 25 and this age-group, which does not tend to be struggling with mortgage repayments or

other domestic bills, is still hunting for fashion bargains.

Asos, previously known as As Seen on Screen, has experienced phenomenal growth since its launch in the summer of 2000 as more

people turn to the internet to buy their clothes. An estimated 5% of fashion is sold online and experts predict that will

double in the next two to three years.

But there has been some weakness across the whole e-commerce sector over recent weeks and Robertson admits that the business

is by no means immune from the wider economic downturn.

"The internet is just another retail channel and as retail slows it is inevitable that the growth which historically we have

seen on the internet will slow," Robertson said. "(But) if we were slowing dramatically we would have seen that by now."

Shares in Aim-listed Asos were down 25.5p at 254p.

Analysts expect the company to report pre-tax profits of between ￡13m and ￡14m for the year to end March 2009.

"There remain plenty more growth opportunities ahead including international expansion," said Mark Photiades, an analyst at

Teathers, in a note to clients. "With its young customer base, cash position and the continuing shift in spend towards the

web, Asos looks to be in a good position to weather what is going to be a very difficult year for the retail industry."