Asos to open new $40 million facility in US to drive growth

Fast-growing online retailer Asos is to ramp up its American offering by spending $40 million (£30m) opening a new factory in the country.

The order fulfilment centre in Union City, outside Atlanta, is expected to be operational by next year and Asos said it will help the business to make further inroads into the market for young shoppers Stateside.

The company said the development will “significantly enhance” its US proposition by providing more cost-effective, faster and more flexible delivery options.

Asos currently has a small fulfilment centre in the US which manages 25 per cent of all orders there, with the remainder being dispatched directly from the UK.

The new ten million unit capacity facility is part of the retailer’s strategy to refocus on the core markets of the UK, Europe and the US.

Asos chief executive Nick Beighton said: “This agreement is a major step forward for Asos in the US and demonstrates the opportunity we believe lies ahead in this key market. Our US fulfilment centre will enable us to significantly develop our proposition for our 20-something US customers supporting our continued growth and future ambitions.”

The firm’s US business delivered 39 per cent constant currency revenue growth in the first six months of 2017 following sales of £179m in the year ended August 2016. 0 Nick Beighton hailed ‘a major step forward’ for Asos