ASOS revealed a successful start to the year in its trading statement today with 26% growth in year on year sales for the first two months of 2014. International growth of 29% led ASOS to the new high, said the company which is a global leader in discount fashion eCommerce.
ASOS now expects to exceed £1bn in sales in 2013/14 and is bringing forward expansion plans.
The company has embarked on an ambitious upgrade plan with sales capacity projected to reach £2.5bn, a £1bn increase over the previous projections. The plan involves an increase in capital expenditure of £13m to £68m for the current year, investing in warehousing in the UK and Germany.
It wasn’t all good news for ASOS as retail gross margin slid by 30 basis points during January and February year on year.
Today’s statement flags lower than expected earnings before tax this year as a consequence of these upgrade plans and the parallel investment in its China start-up.
“It has been an exceptionally busy period of activity at ASOS, with continued growth and accelerated investment,” commented Nick Robertson, CEO .
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