Asos hails £1bn sales in final four months of decade after record Black Friday

But fashion site does not say what proportion of its clothes were sold at a discount

August Graham
Thursday 23 January 2020 14:01 GMT
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Asos revenues broke through £1bn in the last four months of the decade as the online fashion retailer was lifted by a record Black Friday.

Retail sales hit £1.07bn in the period ending on New Year’s Eve.

Meanwhile, total group revenue, which also includes revenues from third parties, rose to £1.11bn.

Both measures were 20 per cent up on the year before.

The business said it had managed to “rebuild customer momentum”, especially due to its best Black Friday on record. It did not reveal what proportion of its clothes were sold at a discount, or what sales were on the day.

Chief executive Nick Beighton said: “Asos has delivered an encouraging start to the year. Strong customer acquisition activity, supported by robust operational performance, has driven good momentum in all our markets.”

Asos kept its outlook for the full year unchanged, and said it would focus on trying to retain the new customers who have started using its website.

The UK, while still the most important single market for the company, lost some of its revenue share.

UK retail sales hit almost £409m, 18 per cent up on the year before, but international retail sales jumped by 22 per cent, including a 23 per cent increase in the US.

It means that the UK’s share of retail sales is 38 per cent, down from nearly 39 per cent a year earlier.

“As we said in October, the focus for this year is to further enhance our capabilities and leverage the investments we have made,” Mr Beighton said.

The company shipped 27.7 million orders in the four months, a 20 per cent rise on the same period in 2018. Meanwhile, 23 per cent more visits to its website were clocked up.

EU retail sales rose 21 per cent to £332.5m.

Mr Beighton added: “We remain confident in our ability to capture the substantial opportunity ahead of us.”

PA

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