Asos storms forward as Christmas sales leap 38pc
Asos' stellar Christmas has demonstrated the draw of online shopping over the high street – the fashion giant saw sales jump 38 per cent to £36m in the four months ended December.
Analysts had predicted a 35 per cent rise in sales over the festive period; the store said it's enjoyed "another strong Christmas", with over 2m orders dispatched.
UK retail sales shot up 37 per cent in the period, and the EU saw a staggering 69 per cent increase.
At the end of the period, Asos has 7.9m active customers – that's 41 per cent more than a year earlier.
The company's sparkling performance provides a stark contrast to its high-street based counterparts: both M&S and Debenhams reported disappointing results, with the former seeing like-for-like sales down 2.1 per cent in the run-up to Christmas and the latter issuing a profits warning.
Asos has been going from strength to strength. It now has a market capitalisation of £5.75bn, as investors' continue to up their valuation.
Alastair McCaig, IG Markets, commented last week:
This valuation is more than enough to ensure that when it leaves the Alternative Investment Market it will be promoted to the FTSE 100 at the first opportunity.
With so many of the high street clothing retailers dropping the ball, this again offers online store Asos the opportunity to increase its already high standing with the investment community.