Asos poised for ‘exceptional’ sales figures

Claudia Schiffer is expected to give ASOS' figures a boost. Picture: Getty

ONLINE fashion retailer As Seen On Screen (Asos) is poised to post “another exceptional quarter” of sales on Tuesday, thanks to rising demand in Germany.

Shares in the Aim-quoted stock have surged by more than 160 per cent over the past year and it is expected to have received a boost by featuring in German television series Fashion Hero, which stars model Claudia Schiffer.

In the UK, Asos is forecast to have benefited from the launch of an Android mobile phone application and the addition of New Look and River Island to its range of brands.

But Societe Generale analyst Anne Critchlow pointed out that Asos was being held back in the US because it has been unable to offer American-branded goods at competitive prices.

Brands such as Nike are currently missing from Asos’s range in the US.

Critchlow said: “Now that Asos has established a full warehouse in the US, it can begin to negotiate – brand by brand – to buy US-branded apparel locally. It should then be able to offer these brands on its US site at a US-appropriate price.

“This is a lengthy and complex project, but it could be achieved by mid-2014.”