Even though Asos is cautious about future growth outlook, the e-tailer is on track to deliver strong year-on-year profit growth and to return to positive free-cash-flow for the full year. First quarter online sales of Asos rose 10 per cent to £983.3 million. Though this was less than the 17 per cent rise in the 10 months to the same date but covering a period of unprecedented economic disruption, it was a strong result.
The UK sales of the fashion e-tail giant dipped by 1 per cent to £329.1 million while those in the US declined 2 per cent to £124,9 million. But, the company’s sales in the EU rose by 20 per cent to £328 million and in the rest of world unit rose by 19 per cent to £201.2 million. Its overall international retail sales rose by 15 per cent.
Though hampered by social distancing protocols, the e-commerce company saw steady improvement throughout the period, reflecting increasing warehouse capacity, underlying improvement in demand and a beneficial returns profile. While the company’s product volume grew by 15 per cent, its average selling price declined due to lockdown product mix and limited demand for occasion wear. It had adapted fast to refocus its product mix, but growth in popular lockdown categories was held back by availability given health and safety measures implemented across our product supply chain”.
However, the Asos’ consumer base increased 16 per cent to 23 million with particularly strong growth in new international customers.
