Asos growth underpinned by IT and social media

Internet retailer invests in back-office improvements to support expansion

More technical improvements will take place at Asos this year to support growth

Online clothing retailer Asos has doubled its annual profit and is confident of another good year ahead, the firm said today in its financial results.

The company reported a 92 per cent profit increase to £14.1m compared with £7.3m in the previous year. Sales also rose to £165.4m from £81m reported in 2008.

A major back-office overhaul has supported the Asos' positive performance. The programme covered buying, merchandising and fulfilment, with the rollout of a new warehouse management system at the firm’s Hemel Hempstead warehouse.

The new warehouse platform was introduced to support the web site’s increasing range of products, international expansion, as well as demands related to delivery and returns.

Asos said more improvements will take place this year, with IT projects focusing on merchandise management and stock planning.

Further enhancements to the web site – which was already revamped in March with new navigation features – will also be a priority for IT over the next few months ahead of planned expansion overseas.

Use of social media was also one of the highlights for the firm over the past year, with official pages being set up on Facebook, MySpace and Bebo.

With Twitter, the firm used a different approach, by allocating 55 staff members to actively talk to customers in addition to providing real-time news, offers and service updates. As a result, Asos now claims to have the largest Twitter following of all UK retailers.

Another initiative in social networking is the launch of Asos Life, a platform which allows customers to talk to each other and key people within the firm.

“It is clear that the structural shift to online continues and I believe that Asos is ideally placed to exploit it,” said chief executive Nick Robertson.

Robertson said international expansion is “a key opportunity” for the firm and that part of the business is expected to see substantial growth in the years to come.

“With three-quarters of the financial year to go, including the key Christmas period, it is too early to assess whether our current performance will continue for the full year,” said Robertson.

“That said, I believe Asos can look forward to another year of strong progress and development.”