Asos sales boosted by bargain hunters

Promotions over the weekend covering Black Friday and Cyber Monday helped online retailer Asos regain sales momentum with its biggest ever trading week at the end of November.

Asos said sales had gathered momentum following 'challenging' couple of months

Retail sales in the UK rose 24 per cent in the three months to 30 November, although a decline in overseas revenues limited growth in total sales to 8 per cent, at £246 million.

The company said sales had gathered momentum following a “challenging” couple of months.

The update failed to spark a recovery in Asos shares, which have lost more than half their value this year. Profits at the fast-growing fashion retailer fell this year amid costly investments in its warehouses around the world and the impact of difficult trading conditions in Australia, China and Russia.

Chief executive Nick Robertson said a £6.3m insurance payout related to the fire at its Barnsley depot in June was being deployed to accelerate an investment in a “zonal” international pricing set-up.

Retail Analyst Nick Bubb said the sales figures were slightly below expectations but the firm was expecting an improvement in the second half of its financial year.