Online fashion retailerAsos.comhas seen its before tax
profits shoot up by 93% year on year.
The company posted its full-year results yesterday in which
profits jumped from £7.3m to £14.1m. Sales grew by 104% to
£165.4m.
The online retail market is outperforming the overall retail
market, and Asos.com says it expects the number of people shopping
online to grow further.
The company's success has been driven by a raft of technology
investments. In March this year the website was overhauled,
improving ease of navigation. The company has new warehouse and
carrier management systems, enabling the company to offer better
customer service.
Asos is present on most major social networking sites and has
asked staff to actively engage with customers. And back office
systems supporting buying and merchandising operations have also
been improved, meaning the company can cope with more orders.
Chief executive Nick Robertson said: "During the next 12 months
we plan to continue our investment in systems, focusing on
merchandise management and stock planning, and will further develop
our website systems in preparation for our international
expansion."
The retailer's business is mostly UK-based but international
sales have risen by 303% to £32.2m. The company says there is
significant opportunity for further international expansion.
At the end of May the site had 1.2m active customers, defined as
people who have bought within the last six months, up 68% on the
year before.
The site attracts 5.4m visitors a month and is the second most
visited apparel and accessories site in the UK.
Robertson said: "We continued our programme of investment
throughout the year, delivering a number of product initiatives
whilst building our team and infrastructure to support these
superior levels of growth. The continued popularity of internet
shopping provided a strong back-drop.
"The percentage of clothing bought online is expected to double
in the next 3 to 4 years, from 5.7% at the end of 2008 to over 11%
by 2013. At ASOS, we remain committed to winning the
online fashion race."