ASOS, Zalando, & EU Fast Fashion
Former Sales and Marketing Director at Zalando
inpractise.com/articles/asos-zalando-and-eu-fast-fashion
ASOS plc
Why is this company interesting?
ASOS is a UK-listed online fashion retail platform with over 26m customers across the UK, EU, and the US. The company was founded in 2000 and generates ~£4bn in sales with ~45% private label and exclusive brand collaborations and 60% from branded suppliers.
The company mainly operates a traditional online wholesale model but has recently launched a 3P-marketplace to widen the selection. ASOS sources 60% of the assortment on longer lead times from APAC and 40% from the UK or Europe. The company targets ~70% full price sales with a lower intake margin than offline competitors but also a lower promotional rate which leads to a gross margin of 45-50%.
Over the last 5 years, ASC has grown the customer base from 12m to over 26m customers that order ~3.5x per year on average. The average order value is ~£40 including returns and the company is targeting a medium term EBIT margin of 4%. ASC’s CEO recently stepped down and the original cofounder is a non-exec holding ~3% of shares outstanding.
Written in Dec 2021
Former Sales and Marketing Director at Zalando
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