ASOS is expanding, with its eighth country specific website, this time in China. The website will be at the domain name asos.cn, and the plan is to open shop in Spring 2014. They closed this operation 2 years later in 2016.
In April 2016, ASOS.com announced that they were pulling out of their Chinese venture, which involved a warehouse and backroom staff based in Shanghai.
All sales to China will now be made through the main website and sales will be shipped from warehouses in Europe. It has been speculated that they were unable to compete with local stores including Alibaba.com which controls some 80% of the market.
It might be that the European and US style fashions that abound on ASOS were not to the linking of the locals. It does, of course, mean that all sales will now be made internationally, something that ASOS do very well to many other countries around the world.
ASOS opening prior to closure in China.
This is good news for followers of fashion in China, who will be able to buy clothes, both menswear and womenswear, in their local currency. The UK based online retailer is the most popular fashion destination for many people in the country and around the world. They have already announced a desire to grow sales through the £1billion a year mark, and this expansion into new territory could help them to achieve this.
“China continues to impress us with its steady growth. The launch will not only help navigate and break down existing barriers, but also dramatically improve the Asos experience for our fast-growing number of Chinese customers,” said Nick Robertson, CEO.
International sales no account for 63% of total group sales.
