ASOS is raising £500m for more global expansion

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Apr 9, 2021

Backed by impressive half-year trading figures and major new financing, Asos said Friday it’s set for major international growth.

A day after seeing its six-month earnings jump to a record high, the UK-based online fashion giant said Friday it plans to use an extra £500m raised from a bond issue to expand globally.

Net proceeds from its senior unsecured guaranteed convertible bond will provide Asos with “additional flexibility to continue to invest behind its global growth strategy”, it said.

It will also use some of the proceeds as refinancing after the acquisition of former Arcadia brands completed in February. Earlier, CEO Nick Beighton said the company's integration of the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridges and HIIT brands had been a success, with Asos selling the full ranges online just three weeks after the deal.

Although it has yet to give any indication of brands or regions it’s targeting for growth, the next months will undoubtably see some key retail fashion brands struggle to make a return after lockdowns end. And with the speed and ease of integrating those former Arcadia brands it spent £330 million to buy, acquiring further attractive labels can only add to its attraction.

Asos already trades in over 200 markets delivering a curated edit of 85,000 products, sourced from 850 global and local third-party brands under Asos Design, Asos Edition, Asos 4505, Collusion, Reclaimed Vintage and, of course, newly acquired Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT.

The company claims its websites attracted 248.6 million visits during February, up from 214.1 million a year ago and claims 24.9 million active customers, of which 7.8 million are from the UK and 17.1 million located in international territories.

Meanwhile, Asos is also planning to unveil its first in-house-designed Topshop lines in time for this year’s Black Friday extravaganza.

The e-tailer is now looking to reveal autumn/winter 2021 products fully designed by the Asos team on 26 November, according to Retail Week.

Beighton said: “Asos have started designing Topshop and Topman product now, and we expect to have the Asos design element feeding through with real authority by autumn/winter, in time for Black Friday. This will be the other exciting moment on our journey”.

It also plans to publish supply chain lists for all four brands by the end of 2021.He added: “We’re looking for these brands to be more inclusive, sustainable and to fit the Asos credentials.”

It has outlined a 100-day plan to fully integrate the brands, on which Beighton says “significant headway” has already been made, evident in “great early customer momentum”.

“We’ve seen strong sales momentum with triple-digit growth across Topshop, Topman and HIIT since our relaunch, with Miss Selfridge posting healthy sales growth up 50%.”