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!!

Surely though, a poor Xmas (which is likely imo) will see these retailers slide further?

in general i would agree with you, but firstly i shall probably not stay in until the new year, and secondly, the likes of ASOS should benefit, perhaps disproportionately, from any spending induced by both the rate cut and christmas

cynic results 17th nov

UK interest rate cut
i think it is almost inconceivable that if the banks do not voluntarily pass on this latest cut, then the gov't will force them to do so.

that will then give the public an injection of "feel good" factor, even if it is only short-lived and encourage some Christmas spending ...... imo, ASC will be among the serious beneficiaries of this.

as an aside, Beloved and daughter reckon the new Westfield shopping mall is absolutely fantastic and is causing the West End stores quite a lot of concern

Friday November 14th 2008

On the shop floor with......ASOS chief executive Nick Robertson

On the second floor of an appealing Art Deco building in north London is the doorway to the office of online fashion retailer ASOS that is shared with part of the NHS.

By Glynn Davis

While many retailers might find this close proximity to life-enhancing expertise comforting in these tough times ASOS is ironically the most unlikely business to need such help. With its first half sales expected to have grown over 100 per cent to 65 million when it reports its interim figures on November 17 and its debt-free balance sheet the company is fighting fit as it enters the crucial Christmas period.

And despite its rapid growth ASOS appears to have handled itself pretty well - no fulfilment and logistics cock-ups or IT failures. This is just as well as the City has been valuing the company on a high rating on the basis of flawless execution.

Wandering around the head office it is clear that the personnel numbers have grown very fast to their current 700 because people (mainly young girls) fight for space among piles and racks of clothes. The calmest places are the two studios that ASOS operates, with one filming video footage and the other photo stills for the website that are used for the 1,000 new products that are added to the website each week.

These studios highlight both the company's insistence on keeping most of its activities in-house and the desire to portray the products on its site in the best possible light. Robertson says the latter is crucial as it is the high quality presentation that has helped attract fashion brands to the site: On our journey of nine years we're now the department store online and for this we've had to tick a lot of boxes...including the presentation of products on ASOS, which are often better than on a brands' own website.

This has helped it attract 600 brands and the number is growing fast (200 will be added this year) as smaller names are finding it tough operating their own sites. For a retailer with 20 or 30 stores in the UK then Robertson suggests the internet is a great distraction. I sense some of the smaller brands have jumped on the online bandwagon as it was the right thing to do but they've now recognised that it's complicated and expensive and a few will throw the towel in, he predicts, as he sets his sights on the 4,500 online fashion transactional websites.

He believes the key driver of growth at ASOS has been its positioning as the number one location for fashion brands online as unlike on the high street Robertson says online shoppers want to visit as few sites as possible to make their purchases. It works on the high street as you walk past windows, but not online.

With its key positioning Robertson believes ASOS can become the dominant player in the market. He dismisses the moves made by the likes of Amazon into fashion. It is not geared up for fashion. They are very good at commoditised fashion. Perhaps Next and Marks & Spencer might be happy on there but not ASOS-type fashion brands, he explains.

More fashionable brands are typically more demanding of the selling environment - whether is it in physical stores or online, which is why the catwalks and presentation aspects are integral to the ASOS model. However, it is not just about third-party brands as 50 per cent of ASOS business is own-label goods.

This part of its business operates in the opposite way to other fashion companies. Whereas they might source 80 per cent of their goods from the Far East and the remainder from Europe ASOS' ratios are the inverse. Although this gives us an intake margin of 60 per cent rather than 70 per cent, we've got the stock-turn - of only eight to nine weeks, says Robertson.

The company also has seriously low operating costs compared with traditional retailers with their costly high street store portfolios: We've 4.50 per sq ft warehouse space compared with prime high street.

Needless to say, ASOS and its online model has long been an attractive investment opportunity to the City and 'Buy' recommendations from retail analysts are pretty commonplace. Their attraction to the growth story, which has seen the group enjoy a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 77 per cent over the past five years, helped push the shares to a peak of 418p a short while ago.

They have since fallen back to around the 240p level, possibly on the back of some forced selling from larger investors who have been looking to raise cash for margin calls on their other investments.

Robertson believes that such a valuation does not taking into account some of the future opportunities available to ASOS. One area involves attracting overseas brands to its site. Whereas the City has factored in the prospect of ASOS opening up in other countries it has not fully recognised the vast array brands around the world that the company could sell on its UK site. The UK is first but then there are these other global brands . How many overseas brands want UK distribution? he asks.

Other big opportunities include ASOS Red that launched in early September and offers discounted brands (along the lines of a TK Maxx) with end-of-season and end-of-line products featuring heavily. The climate is right for such a proposition says Robertson: We've currently not got a lot of stock and we're desperately trying to find it. But in January there will be lots of excess stock.

Further down the line in 2009 he is planning ASOS kids and ASOS vintage/ethical with the latter looking to replicate the success of eBay but focusing only on clothes. Is there an opportunity for somebody to take one of eBay's 1,000 categories and gain some traction from it? Yes.

With Robertson fully believing that this 'somebody' will be ASOS this is an indication of the level of confidence running throughout the business and is in stark contrast to almost every other retailer.

Despite this current buoyancy he admits that the level of success of ASOS is somewhat unexpected: Without a shadow of a doubt I've been surprised. What we did not know was the consumer take-up of fashion online. Robertson and the rest of us now know categorically the answer to this question.

glynnd@theretailbulletin.com

http://www.theretailbulletin.com/news/on_the_shop_floor_withasos_chief_executive_nick_robertson_14-11-08/

RNS Number : 2448I
ASOS PLC
17 November 2008



FOR RELEASE AT 7.00 AM

17 November 2008

ASOS PLC

('ASOS' or 'the Company')

(Leading online fashion retailer)




Interim Results for the 6 months to 30 September 2008




Financial Highlights:

Sales +107% year on year to 65.7 million

Gross margin + 80bps year on year to 46%

Profit before tax +68% year on year to 4.1 million

Cash in bank 8.9m

Sales for the 7 weeks to 16 November 2008 +104% year on year




Business Highlights:

Total number of product lines up 238% year on year to 19,400 as at 31 October 2008

Number of brands up 135% year on year to 700 as at 31 October 2008

Number of active customers up 95% year on year to 947,000 as at 31 October 2008

Total number of unique visitors in October 2008 up 93% to 4.5 million

Successful launch of ASOSRed

Successful launch of Maternity

International sales up 252% year on year to 11.4m




For further information:

ASOS plc Tel: 020 7756 1000

Nick Robertson, Chief Executive

Jon Kamaluddin, Finance Director

Cubitt Consulting Tel: 020 7367 5100

Brian Coleman Smith / James Verstringhe / Nicola Krafft

JPMorgan Cazenove Tel: 020 7588 2828

Luke Bordewich / Gina Gibson

Singer Capital Markets Tel: 020 3205 7500

Nicholas How / Brad Cheng


Background Note

ASOS is rapidly becoming the market leader in the UK online fashion world. The business continues to generate profitable growth despite continued investment in operational resources and enjoys strong and increasing barriers to entry.

Established in June 2000 and admitted to AIM in October 2001, ASOS.com is the UK's largest independent online fashion and beauty retailer and offers over 19,400 branded and own label product lines across womenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, jewellery and beauty with approximately 1,150 new product lines being introduced each week.

Aimed primarily at fashion forward 16-34 year olds, ASOS.com attracts over 4.5 million unique visitors a month and as at 31 October 2008 had 1.88 million registered users and 0.95 million active customers (defined as having shopped in the last 6 months).

www.asos.com

ASOS PLC

('ASOS' or 'the Company')

(Leading online fashion retailer)




Interim Results for the 6 months to 30 September 2008




CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S STATEMENT

ASOS has once again performed strongly and sales for the 6 months to 30 September 2008 are up 107% whilst profit before tax for the same period is up 68% to 4.1 million.

Despite adverse economic conditions, we have, with our strong balance sheet and operational cash flows, continued to invest in a number of customer focussed and strategic initiatives to support future growth.

We are convinced that international expansion is a huge growth opportunity for ASOS. To this end we will be appointing Jon Kamaluddin, currently Finance Director, to the role of International Director. Jon will continue in his existing role until a suitable replacement is found. We also intend to strengthen our Board with the appointment of two additional Non Executive Directors in due course.




CURRENT TRADING AND OUTLOOK

So far ASOS is proving resilient to the slowdown in consumer spending and sales for the 7 weeks to 16 November 2008 are 104% ahead year on year. Nevertheless, as stated at the time of the AGM, we face tougher second half comparables and need to trade through the all important Christmas period. The Board is pleased with the progress that ASOS has made to date with the Company continuing to trade in line with the Board's expectations. We view the coming months with cautious optimism.

Further guidance will be provided at the time of the Christmas trading statement.

Shoppers with stars in their eyes deliver net gain



Previous PreviousNext Next View GalleryPublished Date: 18 November 2008
By Scott Reid
ASOS, the fast-growing online clothing retailer, is to target dedicated followers of fashion overseas in a bid to achieve 1 billion a year in sales.


The firm, whose name stands for As Seen On Screen, has become one of the biggest internet retailing success stories since its launch eight years ago.

Targeting net-savvy 16- to 34-year-olds with clothing and accessories based on those worn by ADVERTISEMENTcelebrities, it boasts almost two million registered users.

Unveiling a 68 per cent jump in interim profits and a 107 per cent surge in sales, chief executive Nick Robertson said it was realistic to think the group could achieve an annual turnover of 1bn ten years from now.

"I think that is achievable," he told The Scotsman. "You've got to compare us with the internet growth, not high street growth.

"Internet shopping is about a fewer number of bigger stores. People tend not to shop at as many shops on the internet as on the high street."

The group's growth plan will involve a push into overseas markets, using dedicated local language websites and support. Jon Kamaluddin, the current finance director, will take on the role of international director.

Robertson said it was too early to pinpoint territories, but added: "I've got the right man in the job. There will be a lot more meat to put on the bones at some point."

Asos banked 4.1 million profits for the six months to 30 September. Sales topped 65.7m, with the momentum continuing in the first seven weeks of the second half, up 104 per cent against 107 per cent in the first half.

Robertson said he was very pleased with the numbers against "an even worsening economic climate" in recent weeks.

He said a significant factor in the company's performance was the rise in the number of options available on the website.

Asos increased the number of product lines by 238 per cent year on year to 19,400, with some 1,150 new lines introduced on to the site each week. It more than doubled the number of brands on offer to 700 by 31 October, up 135 per cent on the previous year. In the same period, the number of active customers those who shopped on the site in the past six months almost doubled year-on-year to 947,000.

The firm, which has its headquarters in London, put its "resilient" performance partly down to the spending power of its younger clients people aged 16 to 24 account for about half of Asos's customer base.

"They don't have the mortgage or utility bill burden," Robertson said. "You're not going to tell the average 22-year-old that she can't go out on a Friday night."

He said the proportion of fashion bought online was set to double to 10 per cent or so in the next few years.

Investec Securities said Asos had produced "slightly stronger sales than forecast".

Analyst Natalia Marisova left full-year estimates unchanged, with the company expected to post profits before tax of 13.5m in the year to March. She said there was "cautious optimism" for the future but warned Asos would not be immune to the financial pressures affecting the whole retail industry.

Seymour Pierce analyst Freddie George said: "The stock, after declining by almost 30 per cent in the last quarter, is now more fairly valued at 20.2 times earnings based on our pre-tax profit forecast of 14m for the current year (to end-March 2009]."

while one cannot deny that ASC's concept and perfomance is stellar, it cannot remain totally immune to this severe ecnomic downturn ....... while it is true that its market is 16/34 year-olds, even they need to have the readies to spend .... this will come either from their parents' pockets(!!) or from their wages, the latter implying that they are still in work.

ASC will certainly have to produce not only strong numbers over the christmas period, but also optimistic noises about trading thereafter.

taking all the above into account, i remain inclined to go short especially if sp reaches the 200 dma at about 300

It certainly looks as if it is roughly at the top of this downchannel cynic. Certainly worth a short on technical levels though there is the possibility of some lunatic rally on wally street so a stop at 325 might be my inclination

i am sitting still for the moment, but shall continue to watch ...... teh so-called fiscal stimulus package to be announced on monday could also do strange things to the market

arguably a little late, but have just gone modestly short at 281

Well they just had a 3 day special sale - dunno if it was mentioned on here, Mr C.
And no, I didn't ;)

didn't what? ...... go modestly short? ..... then immodestly perhaps!

Its looks good for a short to 50/100p imo .

Go on then Mitzy, let us know when you've taken your position.

What exactly indicates 50/100p?

No position no interest .

the chart on post 2317 shows that sp has reacted as might have been expected (with hindsight) ..... 260 is certainly on the cards, and maybe quite a bit below that depending on market sentiment at the time

260 now quite convincingly broken, though whether or not recent low of 200 will be hit remains to be seen

took my profit yesterday (day before?) and put money into WOS short instead .... that has been nicely profitable too, but would have been nice to have cointinued to hold both ..... ASC now being hit, though spread currently very wide - 225/235

just shorted again at 232.25