Insurance payout funds ASOS investment as it faces international challenges

ONLINE clothing retailer ASOS has used a £6.3m insurance payout from a fire at its Barnsley warehouse to invest in international pricing.

In a trading update for the three months to November 30, ASOS announced a £20m increase in sales – all from its UK market, which accounts for 40% of its revenues – as total sales reached £252.2m.

The retailer completed its automation programme in Barnsley in time for the busy Christmas sales period, although it meant that September and October were “challenging”.

ASOS chief executive Nick Robertson said: “Our sales have since gathered momentum and we had our biggest ever trading week over cyber weekend in November.”

It said international sales remained challenging, with a 2% fall in the quarter, although it showed a 4% increase at constant currency.

He added: “We have commenced investment into our international pricing and have started to roll out our zonal pricing capability, which combined will help us to address our international performance. We continue to focus on our major investment programmes, upgrading our IT platform and investing in our logistics capability.”

Following the insurance payout, the company expects full year profits to be in line with expectations.