ASOS sends out an SOS

Now where will we get our ill-fitting neon bralettes that we probably don't need?

Now where will we get our ill-fitting neon bralettes that we probably don't need?

ASOS, once feted as the fast e-commerce star, has spectacularly fallen out of fashion.

The OG online fashion store, founded in 2000, reported a $27.8million loss (before tax) for the six months to the end of February.

Seeing as it is still without a CEO, after the last bloke left abruptly in October due to reported “disagreements”, this sour news probably won’t help the recruitment drive.

Just a year earlier, the company was riding the “I-never-leave-the-house” online retail boom, raking in profits of $187.3 million. 

But profits for the company, formerly named As Seen On Screen, fell 87% from $198.7 million to $26 million in one year. 

That has been put down to “an increasingly challenging environment” including inflation, a slowdown in online shopping following the pandemic, and higher wage bills. 

ASOS reported half-year growth of just 4 per cent, far from its 20 per cent target. Its decision to boycott Russia is expected to reduce growth even further over the year, to a mere 2% growth.

"We have chosen to absorb a significant amount of (inflationary pressures) in the short term” so it does not trickle down to clothing prices, acting chief Mat Dunn said.. 

Sales to Australians dropped in the past year, due  in large part to long delivery times from the UK and Aussies heading back to the shops after lockdown.

Who is the speediest in the fast fashion race?

Manchester-based clothing group Boohoo (which includes PrettyLittleThing)  said it expects yearly earnings to be $220 million (in line with its estimates), down from $305.7 million the year before.

Swedish fashion group H&M, which is in a slightly different category with 4800 physical stores, reported 23% sales growth between December and February.

At Inditex, owner of Zara, sales were up 33% between February and April compared with the same period of 2021.

While they all run, Shein sprints.

The Chinese ultra-fast fashion company does not disclose its financial results but it appears to be doing pretty well. Shein, which ships direct from the factory floor to its customers, is estimated to have made $20.5 billion in 2021 and was recently valued at $100 billion.