ASOS is a British online fashion retailer founded in 2000 by Nick Robertson, Andrew Regan, Quentin Griffiths, and Deborah Thorpe. As an online fashion retailer, ASOS makes money by purchasing clothes from wholesalers and then selling them for a profit. This includes the sale of private label or own-brand products. ASOS further expanded on the fast fashion business model to create an ultra-fast fashion model driven by short sales cycles and online mobile e-commerce as main drivers.
ASOS is a British online fashion retailer founded in 2000 by Nick Robertson, Andrew Regan, Quentin Griffiths, and Deborah Thorpe.
ASOS was originally called As Seen on Screen and sold items used by celebrities in film and television. This included a diverse range of products, including a mortar and pestle used by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and a wallet that appeared in the movie Pulp Fiction.
In 2002, the company became ASOS and was floated on the London Stock Exchange. While it continued to promote fashion items worn by celebrities, Robertson noted that own-brand fashion offered higher profit margins. Two years later, the first ASOS-brand womenswear was launched and the company made its first profit after endorsements from celebrities such as Rihanna and Michelle Obama. Beauty products, jewelry, accessories, and own-brand menswear soon followed.
In 2010, ASOS launched online shopping for consumers in the USA, France, and Germany. The following year, it opened its first international office in Sydney, Australia, and then another in New York City.
Fash fashion has been a phenomenon that became popular in the late 1990s, early 2000s, as players like Zara and H&M took over the fashion industry by leveraging on shorter and shorter design-manufacturing-distribution cycles. Reducing these cycles from months to a few weeks. With just-in-time logistics, flagship stores in iconic places in the largest cities in the world, these brands offered cheap, fashionable clothes and a wide variety of designs.
Zara had mastered this model. Its strength relied on:
Quickly replicating designs: Zara initially didn’t innovate in terms of design. Instead, it copied fashion trends. Therefore, it fast followed the existing trends created by high-fashion players.
Mass manufacturing them: Zara also had mastered quickly and cheaply manufacturing its clothes to achieve extreme speed. Where competitors or existing players took six months to turn the design into clothes available at the store, Zara took this to another level, shortening the design-manufacturing cycle to as low as 2-4 weeks.
Mass distribution and logistics: Another key element of this strategy was making logistics a core competency of Zara. As these clothes could be easily made available in all its stores. By leveraging a “just-in-time” process, Zara distributed clothes across the stores from its central warehouses (perhaps in Spain), making the clothes available within 48 hours in any of the European stores.
Flagship retails: Zara also invested in a marketing/distribution strategy where stores would be located in iconic and central places in the major cities across the globe. This is both a marketing and distributionstrategy as the millions of tourists checking Zara’s store every day also could get comforted by the fact of finding Zara anywhere they were going (not that dissimilar to finding a MacDonald’s restaurant anywhere in the world). And this strategy of flagship stores also worked as a distributionstrategy as its clothes could be easily made available to millions of consumers each day.
High turnover: Another key element of Zara’s strategy was the high turnover of clothes. In short, each week, fashion shoppers could find different styles of clothes, thus creating a sort of addicting shopping mechanism, where you could go shopping with more and more frequency.
As the 2010s came, more and more shoppers turned to online retail. This brought to a further evolution where online players, or at least those able to leverage their online presence, could quickly gather the feedback of users, by further reducing the time from design to manufacturing/distribution.
Therefore, ultra-fast fashion is a further evolution of fast fashion. How did it evolve? By simply relying on online stores, rather than building a physical presence. For instance, in the case of ASOS all its efforts are invested in further shortening the design-to-sales cycles.
We’re all about online at ASOS so you won’t find us in your local mall. We’ve got hundreds of brands and thousands of products that just wouldn’t fit into a store.
Instead we focus our efforts on bringing you thousands of new products each week and the latest fashion news and tips via our Women’s and Men’s homepages.
You don’t have to worry about opening and closing times or trying to find a parking spot – just log on from the comfort of your own home and start shopping. We’ve also got a mobile site and app so you can shop while on the go.
To better understand this transition from fast fashion toward ultra-fast fashion, we need to give a glance at ASOS’ financials.
The trend toward casual clothes has been accelerated by the pandemic and that has favoured ASOS. In fact, from a quick glance at its financials it’s possible to see how the company has further accelerated its sales and global customers acquisition:
Data Source: ASOS Financial Statements
When looking at the financials of ASOS, it’s interesting to note a few things:
The company has a high marginality, with most of its sales coming from retail. This is thanks to the fact that ASOS is online-only. Thus, it uses its cash to invest in shortening the design-sales cycles, rather than operating massive stores, as it has been in the past for fast fashion retails like Zara or H&M.
Among its key metrics there are the total visits, conversions, and mobile device visits.
As it’s clear from its KPIs, mobile shoppers represent the majority (they grew to 86.3% in 2021).
With a strong mobile presence, ASOS has incorporated the social shopping experience into its process thus, managing to increase the average units per basket and the frequency to which mobile shoppers place orders (over 3 orders per year with an average selling price of 23 pounds, and an average basket value of 71 pounds as shoppers usually have three items at least in their baskets).
More Like A Software Company
As the company highlights The ASOS Experience is a continuous process of “beta testing:”
At ASOS, we never settle. We have an always testing, “always in beta” philosophy, constantly improving every day. From free delivery and returns to innovative visual search tech, if it hasn’t been done before, we find a way to do it anyway.
Since ASOS is a online-only player, it’s critical that shoppers can trust it, as such its customer service must be much superior than a service you would expect from a physical retail.
That is why ASOS incentivises free delivery and returns. It also makes it easy to its internal visual search to match and find related items to improve the conversion per purchase.
Value Proposition:
ASOS offers a wide range of fashion products, including private-label and branded items, catering to diverse style preferences.
Focuses on ultra-fast fashion by reducing design-to-sales cycles, providing the latest trends quickly.
Provides a seamless online shopping experience through its website and mobile app.
Offers free delivery and returns, enhancing customer convenience.
Features a social shopping experience and visual search technology to improve the shopping process.
Customer Segments:
Fashion-conscious consumers: Individuals seeking the latest fashion trends and a wide variety of clothing options.
Online shoppers: Customers who prefer the convenience of online shopping, including mobile shoppers.
Vendors and sellers: Businesses and individuals looking to sell their fashion products on the ASOS Marketplace.
Trendsetters: Individuals who value staying updated with the latest fashion and style trends.
Frequent shoppers: Customers who make multiple purchases per year with high average basket values.
Distribution Strategy:
Operates as an online-only fashion retailer, eliminating the need for physical stores.
Focuses on a mobile-friendly shopping experience to reach a broader audience.
Offers free and convenient delivery and returns to enhance customer satisfaction.
Incorporates visual search technology and social shopping elements to engage and retain customers.
Continuously tests and improves its online shopping experience, staying in “beta” mode.
Marketing Strategy:
Markets itself as an ultra-fast fashion retailer with a commitment to quick design-to-sales cycles.
Leverages a strong mobile presence, targeting mobile shoppers who represent the majority.
Encourages free delivery and returns to attract and retain customers.
Utilizes visual search technology to improve product discovery and conversions.
Offers Premier Delivery as a subscription service with added benefits like free express shipping.
ASOS Revenue Model
As an online fashion retailer, ASOS makes money by purchasing clothes from wholesalers and then selling them for a profit. This includes the sale of private label or own-brand products.
It also makes money through usage fees, commission fees, and advertising revenue. Let’s take a look at each below.
ASOS Marketplace
Vendors who wish to sell their products on the ASOS Marketplace are charged a monthly usage fee of £20.
For each successful sale, the company also takes a 20% commission.
The exact usage and commission fee will of course vary from country to country.
Private label sales
Private label sales profits are maximized because ASOS designs and then delivers its own brands. This vertical integration allows the company to effectively manage inventory levels and collect 100% of the total amount of each sale.
Advertising revenue
ASOS also earns money by charging third-party businesses to advertise on its platforms. This includes the eCommerce site and ASOS Magazine.
Premier Delivery
Premier Delivery is a service giving members unlimited and free express delivery in metropolitan areas and standard delivery elsewhere. The service also offers free returns and in some cases, no minimum order spend.
Premier Delivery is available in fifteen countries worldwide and is available for a recurring yearly subscription fee. Again, pricing is variable and based on the country of origin.
In Australia, the service is AUD 39 per year. In the United Kingdom, Premier Delivery is worth £9.95 per year.
Key takeaways:
ASOS is a British online retailer founded in 2000 by Nick Robertson, Andrew Regan, Quentin Griffiths, and Deborah Thorpe. Originally, ASOS sold items popularised by celebrities in film and television.
ASOS drives revenue by charging vendors who wish to sell on its platform a commission fee and monthly usage fee. In the private label space, vertical integration allows the company to control more of the process and maximize profits.
ASOS also earns money by offering advertising on its website and in its magazine. Premier Delivery is also offered to consumers who want access to free and unlimited shipping in fifteen countries.
Element
Description
Value Proposition
ASOS offers a compelling value proposition to its customers, including: – Fashion Variety: Providing a wide selection of trendy and diverse fashion products. – Accessibility: Offering fashion for various body types, sizes, and styles. – Online Convenience: Enabling customers to shop online 24/7 from anywhere. – Global Reach: Shipping to over 200 countries worldwide. – Affordable Pricing: Offering competitive prices and frequent sales and discounts. – Fashion Trends: Staying updated with the latest fashion trends and styles. – Customer Engagement: Providing an engaging online shopping experience.
Core Products/Services
ASOS’ core products and services include: – Fashion Retail: Selling a broad range of clothing, footwear, accessories, and beauty products for men and women. – Private Label: Developing and selling its own fashion brands and products. – Third-Party Brands: Partnering with various fashion brands and designers for product listings. – Marketplace: Operating a marketplace where independent sellers can list their fashion items. – Mobile App and Website: Offering a user-friendly online platform for shopping. – Global Shipping: Providing international shipping and delivery options. – Customer Reviews: Allowing customers to leave reviews and ratings on products.
Customer Segments
ASOS serves a diverse range of customer segments, including: – Fashion Enthusiasts: Trend-conscious individuals seeking the latest styles. – Youth Market: Young adults and teenagers looking for affordable fashion. – Online Shoppers: Customers who prefer the convenience of online shopping. – Global Consumers: Shoppers from various countries and regions. – Fashion Bloggers: Influencers and fashion bloggers who promote products. – Independent Sellers: Individuals and businesses selling fashion items on the ASOS marketplace. – Plus-Size Customers: Offering a range of sizes to cater to different body types.
Revenue Streams
ASOS generates revenue through various revenue streams: – Product Sales: Earnings from the sale of clothing, accessories, and beauty products. – Private Label Brands: Revenue from sales of ASOS-owned brands. – Third-Party Brands: Commissions and fees from partnering with other fashion brands. – Marketplace Fees: Fees from independent sellers listing products on the ASOS marketplace. – International Sales: Revenue from global sales and shipping fees. – ASOS Premier Delivery: Subscription-based service for unlimited next-day delivery. – Beauty Products: Income from sales of skincare and beauty items. – Partnerships: Collaborations and exclusive product launches.
Distribution Strategy
ASOS employs a strategic distribution strategy to reach its customers: – Global Warehouses: Operating multiple warehouses worldwide for efficient order fulfillment. – Express Shipping: Offering fast and reliable delivery options, including express shipping. – Mobile App and Website: Providing a user-friendly platform for browsing and purchasing. – Customer Engagement: Engaging with customers through social media and promotions. – Returns and Exchanges: Simplifying the return and exchange process for customers. – Marketing and Influencers: Partnering with influencers and celebrities for marketing campaigns. – Sustainable Initiatives: Implementing sustainability efforts in packaging and product sourcing. – Customer Service: Offering support for inquiries and assistance with orders.
Slow fashion is a movement in contraposition with fast fashion. Where in fast fashion, it’s all about speed from design to manufacturing and distribution, in slow fashion, quality and sustainability of the supply chain are the key elements.
Patagonia is an American clothing retailer founded by climbing enthusiast Yvon Chouinard in 1973 who saw initial success by selling reusable climbing pitons and Scottish rugby shirts. Over time Patagonia also became a fashionable brand also for its focus on slow fashion. Indeed, the company sells high-priced clothing items built to last which it will repair for free.
Patagonia has a particular organizational structure, where its founder, Chouinard, disposed of the company’s ownership in the hands of two non-profits. The Patagonia Purpose Trust, holding 100% of the voting stocks, is in charge of defining the company’s strategic direction. And the Holdfast Collective, a non-profit, holds 100% of non-voting stocks, aiming to re-invest the brand’s dividends into environmental causes.
Fash fashion has been a phenomenon that became popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as players like Zara and H&M took over the fashion industry by leveraging on shorter and shorter design-manufacturing-distribution cycles. Reducing these cycles from months to a few weeks. With just-in-time logistics and flagship stores in iconic places in the largest cities in the world, these brands offered cheap, fashionable clothes and a wide variety of designs.
With over €27 billion in sales in 2021, the Spanish Fast Fashion Empire, Inditex, which comprises eight sister brands, has grown thanks to a strategy of expanding its flagship stores in exclusive locations around the globe. Its largest brand, Zara, contributed over 70% of the group’s revenue. The country that contributed the most to the fast fashion Empire sales was Spain, with over 15% of its revenues.
LVMH is a global luxury empire with over €79 billion ($83 billion) in revenues for 2022, spanning several industries: wines and spirits, fashion and leather goods, perfumes and cosmetics, watches and jewelry, and selective retailing. It comprises brands like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior Couture, Fendi, Loro Piana, and many others.
Kering Group follows a multi-brand business model strategy. The central holding helps the brands and Houses part of its portfolio leverage economies of scale while creating synergies. At the same time, those brands are run independently. Kering is today a global luxury brand that made over €20 billion in revenue based on this multi-brand strategy. Within Kering Group are brands like Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, and many more—the primary operating segments based on luxury and lifestyle.
Kering is a luxury goods multinational founded in France by François Pinault in 1963. The company, which initially specialized in timber trading, grew via acquisitions and was listed on the Paris Stock Exchange in 1988. Two years later, Kering merged with a French conglomerate interested in furniture, department stores, and bookstores.
The Ultra Fashion business model is an evolution of fast fashion with a strong online twist. Indeed, where the fast-fashion retailer invests massively in logistics and warehousing, its costs are still skewed toward operating physical retail stores. While the ultra-fast fashion retailer mainly moves its operations online, thus focusing its cost centers on logistics, warehousing, and a mobile-based digital presence.
ASOS is a British online fashion retailer founded in 2000 by Nick Robertson, Andrew Regan, Quentin Griffiths, and Deborah Thorpe. As an online fashion retailer, ASOS makes money by purchasing clothes from wholesalers and then selling them for a profit. This includes the sale of private label or own-brand products. ASOS further expanded on the fast fashion business model to create an ultra-fast fashion model driven by short sales cycles and online mobile e-commerce as the main drivers.
Real-time retail involves the instantaneous collection, analysis, and distribution of data to give consumers an integrated and personalized shopping experience. This represents a strong new trend, as a further evolution of fast fashion first (who turned the design into manufacturing in a few weeks), ultra-fast fashion later (which further shortened the cycle of design-manufacturing). Real-time retail turns fashion trends into clothes collections in a few days or a maximum of one week.
SHEIN is an international B2C fast fashion eCommerce platform founded in 2008 by Chris Xu. The company improved the ultra-fast fashion model by leveraging real-time retail, quickly turning fashion trends in clothes collections through its strong digital presence and successful branding campaigns.
Zara is a brand part of the retail empire Inditex. Zara is the leading brand in what has been defined as “fast fashion.” With almost €20 billion in sales in 2021 (comprising Zara Home) and an integrated retail format with quick sales cycles. Zara follows an integrated retail format where customers are free to move from physical to digital experience.
Wish is a mobile-first e-commerce platform in which users’ experience is based on discovery and customized product feed. Wish makes money from merchants’ fees and advertising on the platform, and logistic services. The mobile platform also leverages an asset-light business model based on a positive cash conversion cycle where users pay in advance as they order goods, and merchants are paid in weeks.
Poshmark is a social commerce mobile platform that combines social media capabilities with its e-commerce platform to enable transactions. It makes money with a simple model, where for each sale, Poshmark takes a 20% fee on the final price for sales of $15 and over and a flat rate of $2.95 for sales below that. Its gamification elements and the tools offered to sellers are critical to the company’s growth as a mobile-first platform.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
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