ASOS have dropped quite significantly in the past week for no particular reason and I view this as the perfect opportunity to invest as I can see them bouncing right back up to the 5.50p mark in the next 2-3 weeks. STRONG BUY!!

Takeover at these pe levels LOL

There was more bad news from the retail sector last week as furniture retailers ScS Upoholstery and Land of Leather both announced that they would need extra funding to deal with increasingly challenging working capital requirements.

Troubled ScS announced that a large insurer had withdrawn coverage allowing for early payments to suppliers after deeming the business too risky, causing its shares to fall 27 per cent to 8p, meaning that ScS shares have shed more than 96 per cent of their value in 12 months. Land of Leather's shares have also seen their value slashed by 95 per cent over the last 12 months as consumer confidence has evaporated. But Land of Leather is to announce its plans for a fund-raising exercise by the end of this week, which suggests that an arrangement is already in motion unlike ScS, which is rumoured to have appointed advisors on a potential fund-raising, and administrators, should it not materialise.

But it is not all doom and gloom for retailers, consumers have not curbed their spending online as recent trading updates from pure play online retailers Asos and EBTM both detailed positive news.

Results from EBTM last week saw the online music-inspired fashion retailer beat expectations and report maiden profits of 0.85m on the back of 401 per cent revenue growth. Its online sales grew 37 per cent, and broker Blue Oar expects further growth of 50 per cent in 2009 proving that while consumers are not spending on big ticket items, they are still spending to look good.

In fact, Verdict Research expects online retail sales to hit 44.9bn in 2012 with clothing and footwear forecast to be the fastest growing categories in the sector.

So Asos's plans to double sales in the next three years - sales for the year ended 31 March 2008 were 81m - are not as fanciful as they appear on first view. Part of this plan is the launch of a new online discount designer store called Asos Red. The store will sell branded items by the likes of Diesel, Ralph Lauren and Ted Baker at 75 per cent discounts in a bid to tap into the 2.7bn discount designer market. Asos has poached two buyers from market leaders TK Maxx for Asos Red, which is due to launch in September.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IC VIEW:
GoodValue

Good to hear from the senior dog - mind, I think he has the wrong sector when he talks about 'concrete rumours'! Eric

Thank you Eric, I don't post very often but I'm an avid reader of both you and sd, both being very instructive IMHO, perhaps " firm rumours" would have been better!!!. SD

com & LCFs LTD 100 Collection is an Instant Sell-out
Fashion, Lifestyle, Trends
Press release from: ASOS.com
PR Agency: WorldwidePR.net

LTD 100 Accessory winner: Ursula Inglis-Jones
Store this image in big size
(openPR) - Entire LTD 100 collection sells out on asos.com in only 2 minutes

London: Fashion e-tailer, asos.com, announces that LTD 100 design collection in association with London College of Fashion, was an instant sell-out when it launched online at 1pm on 16 June 2008. Within the first few minutes of going live, the 100 one-off pieces were snapped up by quick clickers eager to secure a piece of design history.

The collection of designs from London College of Fashion final year students was made up of menswear, womenswear and accessories and with all students set to receive 100% of the sales of their designs. Three winning designers were chosen from the LTD 100 collection who will go on to take up placements within the asos.com design team later this year, with the overall winner also receiving an all-expenses paid inspirational trip to Tokyo with the design team.

The LTD 100 collection and winning designers were hand-picked by a high profile panel of fashion experts including designer du jour Henry Holland, Vogues Emma Elwick, B Store owner Matthew Murphy and model Ben Grimes. Talking about the collection and the collaboration, Henry Holland said: Some of the workmanship is amazing! Its really nice to get asked to do stuff like this; supporting emerging design talent is really important.

Winner of the LTD 100 womenswear prize was awarded to Lui Sin Ki whose structured, angular black sequin dress wowed the judges with its appreciation of the female form. Her design impressed the judges so much that she also went on to be crowned the overall LTD 100 winner.

Commenting on her design, Rob Bready, asos.coms product and trading director and one of the LTD 100 judges, said: We were truly impressed with the structuring of this classic design which celebrates the female silhouette in all its glory. Easy to wear and effortless, this would be a failsafe fashion favourite that most women would love to have in their wardrobe.

LTD 100 menswear winner, Samantha Ball, won the judges over with her beautifully tailored double breasted coat. Bready said: The tailoring on the winning piece was superb with fantastic craftsmanship and quality fabrications which gave this item a premium edge.

Ursula Inglis-Jones, winner of the LTD 100 accessories award, was praised for the amazing detail of her oversized leather handbag. Bready said: The craftsmanship of this design is outstanding with its attention to detail making it feel like a true luxury must-have.

Robert Bready, Product and Trading Director, asos.com said: This is the second year that we have joined forces with London College of Fashion to celebrate and nurture the talents of the UKs hottest designers. This year, through the LTD 100 project, we are giving fashion lovers the unique opportunity to own a truly limited one-off garment which has the potential to become a piece of future design history. And judging by the speed at which it sold out, there is a genuine desire for new design talent out there.

Colin Renfrew, Dean of the School of Design and Technology at London College of Fashion, said: Its hugely important to support young designers in this country. We produce some of the best designers in the world and through this partnership with asos.com, we are able to help develop fashion students for their future design careers.

www.asos.com/Woman/Ltd-100/Cat/pgecategory.aspx?cid=4921

Notes to editors:

asos.com & LCFs 2008 collaboration LTD 100
Earlier this year, ASOS.com set final year LCF students the challenge of submitting up to three designs for inclusion in an exciting capsule collection of 100 one-off designs titled LTD 100.

asos.com & LCFs 2007 collaboration The Fame, Fortune & Fashion Awards
Last year, ASOS.com held its first collaboration with LCF the Fame, Fortune & Fashion Awards. The students brief: to create an innovative, but commercially viable outfit inspired by iconic stars of the 21st century. The judges brief: to choose one menswear winner and one womenswear winner to receive the Fame, Fortune & Fashion Award. Twelve final-year London College of Fashion students made it through to the finals of the Fame, Fortune & Fashion Awards and showcased their work at a runway show held at LCF. As well as receiving half of the profits generated by their designs, students were competing for the chance to win a coveted three-month work placement with the ASOS.com design team.

asos.com, London College of Fashion, students, fashion, LTD 100, Henry Holland, Ben Grimes, Emma Elwick, Vogue, Matthew Murphy, B Store, clothes, dress, dresses, fashion tops, fashion skirts, mens jeans, mens t-shirts

Susie Young
ASOS.com
Greater London House
Hampstead Road
London
NW1 7FD

0207 836 1284
press@asos.com
www.asos.com

So what????????? woodie

transco more money in bank ,if the company thought it was bau they would not have put out a press statment.

One hint of bad news and the shorters will have a field day.

so far the holders are having just that- a triple bagger and more for some

one day you might be right though but believe 4.00 p/s is more likely. Anyroad, happy to move my trailing stop loss higher and higher

Landsbanki reiterated a 'buy' stance and a 375p price target for shares in internet fashion retailer ASOS (ASC) ahead of the company's full year results due on Monday, saying it is likely to benefit from an increasing trend towards clothing spend on the internet. "While we do not believe that ASOS is completely immune from the current consumer slowdown, we do believe that its youngish customer base will be more resilient through the downturn than the typical high street shopper," it commented. The broker reckons upgrades may be on the horizon, if the company's run rate is shown to have been maintained or bettered. ASOS shares rose 3.25p to 327p

Take yor profit on monday chaps - the profit takers will be out in force!

Monday in a year or three - I assume you mean transco!

Monday man...... its waiting to fall like everything else - only the results holding it up!

The celeb-alike fashion site that's grabbing the 'Heat' generation

500 new items and three million hits a month and the share price is soaring: Judi Bevan checks out ASOS

Sunday, 29 June 2008


Independent.co.uk Web


Imagine all the fashion shops of Oxford Street available at a click of your mouse and you have some idea of ASOS, the only listed British retailer right now where sales are growing at 80 per cent a year.


On the website you can find more than 8,000 outfits and accessories, many of them remarkably similar to those worn recently by Sienna, Kate, Victoria and friends. You can even see pictures of your favourite celebrities wearing the original, or watch a video clip of a model twirling in the outfit of your choice.

If you don't have the right belt, bag or bangle to go with that new dress, don't worry; a choice of accessories will pop up alongside the garment. Do you need a pair of sunglasses for summer? Just upload your photograph and click, click, click to see how the latest designer shades will look on you. Thank you, broadband.

You had better be quick, though, because 500 new items are added each month and when they are gone, they are gone or WIGIG, as they say in the retail trade. As the managements of Zara, H&M Hennes and Topshop know, creating the impression of scarcity is a wonderful way to keep that stock turning over fast, and that cash-flow flowing.

When ASOS announces full-year figures tomorrow, it will provide some welcome news in a depressing retail firmament. Analysts expect profits before tax of at least 7m more than double last year's 3m on turnover of 80m (up from 43m). They also expect the website's founder and chief executive, Nick Robertson, the great-grandson of Austin Reed, who gave us the quintessentially English menswear brand, to make bullish noises about future expansion plans. The company will shortly open a new warehouse that should see it through the next five years, and Robertson wants to increase the range on offer. "We hope to double the number of brands within 18 months," he explains.

Robertson is also in discussions with Sir Philip Green, owner of the Arcadia group, about selling Topshop clothes in the same way he already sells Karen Millen, Kookai and French Connection. Topshop has its own online operation running alongside its retail stores, but if the right deal were to be struck, it could make sense for both sides.

Even without it, ASOS is the second most popular online clothing site to Next, with 4.6 per cent of the market, and some analysts are forecasting it will be number one within months.

Robertson started his career in the advertising industry with Young & Rubicam in 1987, but by 1995 he had co-founded Entertainment Marketing, which specialised in product placement around celebrities. Five years later that morphed into ASOS, which was launched on AIM, the London market for growing companies, at the height of the dot-com boom that quickly became the dot-com crash. The company struggled with capacity restraints and technical problems until 2004, when it made its first profit.

Since then, the site has grown to attract three million visits a month. Even the Buncefield oil refinery explosion at Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, which damaged ASOS's warehouse and closed the website over Christmas 2005, failed to set it back.

Typical ASOS customers are young working women who read Heat and Grazia, like to party and do not yet have mortgages. More than half of women in the UK between the ages of 16 to 24 now buy clothes online more than once a month. And with 55 per cent of all households having broadband, that figure is likely to rise, especially as Robertson has attracted an impressive management team from "bricks and mortar" retailers such as M&S, Topshop and Selfridges.

In the past year ASOS shares have risen dramatically to 324p, outperforming the retail sector, admittedly a pretty mixed bag, by 300 per cent. It is reasonable to expect the shares to mark time at some stage but the stellar performance has attracted the attention of the investment bank Cazenove, which recently produced a 30-page circular describing the speed of growth as "staggering" and is forecasting a further jump in profits to 12m for 2009.

To those who criticise ASOS's blatant exploitation of Britain's celebrity culture, Robertson has a robust reply: "All we are doing is showing clothes in the context of celebrities, which is what magazines have been doing for decades."

High-street shops are left out in the cold

Online retailing may be the growth story of the moment but it is still relatively tiny compared with the industry as a whole. The specialist research company Verdict estimates that UK online sales will hit 15.2bn in 2008 up from 6.4bn in 2004; but that is still only 5 per cent of the entire retail market.

By comparison, though, last week proved dismal for traditional "bricks and mortar" retailing, with research showing consumer confidence at new lows. And although spending on food and in "feelgood" areas such as entertainment and clothing remains resilient, people are staying clear of "big ticket" fridges, TVs and furniture.

Profits at the electrical retailer DSG International fell from 295m to 205.3m due to what chief executive John Browett called the "challenging environment". Profits at the group's UK computing division mainly PC World halved. A restructuring of its troubled Italian arm resulted in a one-off impairment charge of 390m.

At Kesa Electricals, which owns Comet in the UK and Darty in France, chief executive Jean-No Labroue said there had been a clear slowdown in growth in the past six weeks.

Meanwhile Debenhams, or Debtenhams as it is now known due to its heavily geared balance sheet, rushed out a statement showing better sales than feared. It was to no avail, and investors continued to shun the stock. Although British Retail Consortium figures for May showed sales growth of 1.9 per cent, analysts believe this was mainly due to much better weather than last May. The British retail climate is expected to carry on cooling

ASOS FY underlying pretax profit up 176 percent
AFX


LONDON (Thomson Financial) - ASOS Plc, the AIM-listed internet fashion retailer, reported Monday a 176 percent increase in full-year underlying pretax profit and buoyant current trading, bucking the deepening gloom in the UK retail sector.

For the year to March 31 2008, the group, formerly known as As Seen on Screen, made a record underlying pretax profit of 8.2 million pounds, up from 3.0 million pounds last time, on revenue up 90 percent to 81.0 million pounds.

Pretax profit was 7.3 million pounds, up 117 percent and above analyst forecasts of about 7.0 million pounds. Earnings per share rose 99 percent to 6.6 pence.

The retailer has also made an impressive start to its new financial year, with sales for the 13 weeks to June 27 up 95 percent.

As of June 27, ASOS.com had 1.65 million registered users.

The website targets internet savvy 18 to 34 year olds looking to emulate the designer looks of celebrities, such as Kate Moss, Paris Hilton and Victoria Beckham, but at a fraction of the price.

ASOS.com offers over 10,900 fashion products across womenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, jewellery and beauty.

Shares in ASOS, 14 percent of which are owned by chief executive Nick Robertson, closed Friday at 327 pence, valuing the business at 237 million pounds.

james.davey@thomsonreuters.com

http://weblogs.hitwise.com/robin-goad/2008/07/asos_com_growth_and_demographics.html

;-0

So the roses may not last all summer!

Peaked and on it`s way downhill now by the look of the chart maybe.

Views of a chart expert please?

1 year and 6 month charts below.
trend is still very healthy, but even in a strong market, nothing continues upwards in an unbroken line.

new clothes, even for women(!), are not a necessity of life, so with incomes being badly squeezed and sentiment continuing to fall, it is no surprise to see the high street shops being badly hit.

ASOS has escaped the pain so far, firstly because is seems to fill a particular niche very well indeed, and also does not have the frightening o'heads of high street rentals.

nevertheless, if spending is being reduced, it is hard to see ASOS being totally immune, and thus a reflection in sp which, of course, is looking forward +/-6 months.

i don't think "today" is a time to be buying anything (except perhaps kevlar vest stocks!), but if i were a holder, i would be pretty sanguine and only be concerned if sp dropped with any impetus through 25/50 dma levels.