ASOS figures show clothing is enjoying online sales boom

Another high street staple, the clothes store, is having its dominance whittled away by the growth in e-commerce, if the latest sales figures from online retailer ASOS are anything to go by.

The company announced a 47 per cent growth in sales for the first half of its 2009 operating year over the same period the previous year, and a recession-busting nine per cent rise in profits, to GBP4.4million.

The firm, which was originally known as As Seen On Screen, aims to offer young consumers the chance to wear the same designer looks as celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Dannii Minogue, and its success has seen it become the largest online fashion and beauty retailer in the UK.

But growth here is now being substantially outstripped by that in international markets, where great progress in Denmark, Germany, France, Ireland and the United States resulted in a six-monthly growth of 161 per cent.

ASOS.com attracts over 6.3 million unique visitors a month and as at October 31 2009 had 2.8 million registered users and 1.2 million active customers (defined as having shopped in the last 6 months).

ASOS.com is the UK’s largest independent online fashion and beauty retailer and offers over 24,000 branded and own label product lines across womenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, jewellery and beauty with over 1,400 new product lines being introduced each week.

In September the company had said first-half profits would be “marginally ahead” of the same time last year.

Since the period reviewed in its figures, sales had continued to grow, and were up 46 percent in the seven weeks to November 15, ASOS said.

“Our outlook for the second half remains cautiously optimistic,” Chief Executive Nick Robertson said.

“Stock and costs have been controlled well, so our performance in the second half should be significantly ahead year on year, providing sales continue to grow in line with expectations.”

The results came as high street fashion chain H&M announced a three per cent drop in sales at its stores in October.