Asos reveals another double-digit boost in sales

Nick Robertson, the chief executive of online fashion retailer Asos, today offered a two-fingered salute to critics who suggest the high-flying business is growing too quickly as he revealed another double-digit boost in sales.

He said: “I stick two fingers up to those people. I mean, the results speak for themselves. We’ve been in the UK for 13 years now and even there we’ve managed to increase sales 34% when people were saying it was a mature market.” His resolute position comes as the company saw full-year sales jump 40% to £754 million in the year to the end of August with pre-tax profits up 37% to £54.7 million.

The outspoken boss also allayed fears of a mass exodus from the company, following the resignation of two senior executives in the past four months.

Kate Bostock, who joined from Marks&Spencer and had only been in the job for six months quit in July after she struggled to keep up with the pace of the business, while director James Hart left last month.

Robertson said: “The problem is, you only ever hear about the people who leave and not the 300 we’ve employed.”

The company will continue to expand with Robertson keen to hit annual sales of £1 billion, and will increase spending by £110 million over the next two years.