asos plc
annual report  accounts 2009
winning the online fashion race
asos plc annual report  accounts 2009 asos is rapidly becoming the
market leader in the uk online
fashion world
asos continues to generate
profitable growth despite
continued investment in
operational resources
asos enjoys strong and
increasing barriers to entry due
to its dominant market position
01 highlights 02 our business 16 chairman’s statement 18 chief executive’s statement
22 finance director’s review 26 board of directors 30 corporate governance
32 directors’ remuneration report 36 directors’ report 40 independent auditors’ report
42 consolidated income statement 43 statements of changes in equity
44 consolidated balance sheet 45 company balance sheet
46 consolidated cash flow statement 47 company cash flow statement
48 notes to the financial statements 79 five year group financial summary
winning the online fashion race 01
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
01
163395
81044
42614
20317
14428
revenue
£’000
102
05 06 07 08 09
71699
37284
18126
8649
6479
gross profit
£’000
92
05 06 07 08 09
13935
6962
3246
1344
840
operating
profit
£’000
100
05 06 07 08 09
10009
5053
2484
1417
879
profit after 
taxation
£’000
98
05 06 07 08 09
61
25709
15944
8385
5522
3612
net assets
£’000
05 06 07 08 09
136
69
34
20
13
earnings
per share
pence
97
05 06 07 08 09 stock exchange code asc asos plc annual report and accounts 2009
menswear now accounts for 
18 of our sales
our business
over half of our male shoppers 
are under the age of 25
over half of our female shoppers 
are under the age of 25
— the number of 
active shoppers 
has increased to 
over 12 million
— over 24000 lines
for sale
— asos is the no 2 
player in the uk 
online clothing 
market
— attracting over
52 million visitors
per month
■ womenswear 63
■ women’s non clothing 18
■ beauty 1
■ menswear 18
■ women 16 — 25 51
■ women 26 — 35 29
■ women 36 20
■ men 16 — 25 52
■ men 26 — 35 30
■ men 36 18
asos percentage
of retail sales
age profile of
female shoppers
age profile of
male shoppers
02
wwwasoscom 03
wwwasoscom www www www www was as as as sos os os os o com com com com com
the online fashion store
our strategy
overview
our objective is to be the leading fashion website in the uk and 
attract growing numbers of overseas customers
a key element of our financial strategy is to maximise efficiency while 
continuing to invest in supporting our planned growth
uncompromising presentation
the asos website is our shop window and we will continue to 
develop it to ensure that our customers enjoy their time on the site 
and find it easy to find their way around it
incredible choice
we will offer our customers the latest fashion with a target of over 
30000 options for the autumn  winter season this will be driven 
through both own label and branded products 
delivering impeccable service
we will increase the number of delivery options available to
our customers
winning the online fashion race
awards
2008
company high street
awards —
best online shopping
apa awards —
integrated marketing solution 
and digital activity of the year wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
04
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
— 500000 average 
monthly 
circulation
— asos magazine now 
the third largest 
circulation after 
glamour and 
cosmopolitan
 
uncompromising
presentation
asos life
in 2008 we joined the 
conversation with customers 
through various social media 
starting official asos pages 
on facebook myspace 
and bebo we have also 
introduced asos life which 
allows customers to talk to 
each other and key people 
within asos 
case study 05
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
05
wwwasoscom www www www www was as as as  os os os oscom com com om com
the online fashion store
the website received a complete overhaul in march 2009 
and we introduced a number of new navigation features to 
enable quick and easy browsing of the extended product 
ranges we also introduced a 360 degree view of all shoes 
and accessories and we introduced catwalk for menswear 
and for asos outlet
our 20 biggest brands are now represented
by a ‘shop in shop’ providing a rich brand
experience for our customers and a
unique distribution platform for our
brand partners
awards
2008
apa awards —
most effective retail consumer 
magazine of the year
ppa awards —
customer magazine of
the year wwwasoscom
06
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009
06
wwwasoscom
stock exchange code asc
awards
2009
cosmopolitan online
fashion awards —
best online retailer
2008
maxim style awards — 
multiple brand retailer
of the year
fashion
6126 
aynot dead 
acne denim
adidas
alexander wang 
tees 
alexandra mcqueen 
for puma 
alice  olivia 
alice and sens 
alice mccall
annsofie back 
antik batik
april 77 
aqua couture
armand basi one
arne and carlos 
bassike 
belle sauvage
bench 
berman black 
best behaviour 
beyond the valley 
bibi chemnitz 
billabong
bllack noir 
bolongaro trevor
calvin klein
lounge  lingerie
chilli pepper
chloe lounge  
swim 
ck by calvin klein 
coast
coming soon by yoji 
yamamoto 
coutique
dagmar 
dahlia
darling
denham
designers remix 
diesel  
diesel black gold 
disney couture 
dkny lounge  
lingerie 
dolly dare 
edwin 
eksempel 
ellisborough 
emporio armani 
lounge 
farhi by nicole 
farhi  
fantasie
fashion enter
fat face
freya
future classics
genetic  
gestuz
gomez gracia 
happie loves it
heaven  earth 
helene berman 
horace
house of the gods
humanoid 
hurwundeki
ichi
iro 
jaeger london
jj park
jovonna
junk food
just cavalli 
k by karl lagerfeld 
karen millen 
karen walker 
kate fearnley 
kuyichi
lamb 
lauren moshi
lipsy
lisa jayne dann
little miss sew 
lna 
lofli
manoush 
markus lupfer
mcq by alexander 
mcqueen
mina
mini market
minimum 
motel
muu baa 
natalie encarnita
nicola de main
nike
nobody 
numph 
nw3 
orion
panuu 
patrizia pepe 
paul  joe sister  
paul frank
people tree
just a few of our womens brands
choice
incredible 07
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
“we welcomed a number of new brands to 
the site including gstar reiss warehouse 
and polo ralph lauren and we look 
forward to introducing both gap and 
mango in august 2009”
peoples market
peter jensen 
pinko  
pinko skin
poppy valentine 
pringle 1815 
prophecy
public beware
puma
quontum
rainbeaux
rare
rebecca taylor 
reiss 
religion
repetto
richard sorger 
roxy
sass  bide 
satori
seafolly 
selected femme
shock absorber
siren
siwy
soaked in luxury
something else
sonia by sonia 
rykiel 
sugar hill boutique 
sunseeker
supertrash
tfnc
the laden 
showroom 
the mountain
tofu
totem
traffic people
tree hugger 
twenty8twelve 
unconditional 
unique boutique
valentino red 
vero moda
vila
vix 
wayne 
wheels  doll baby 
whistle 
wildfox 
william rast 
won hundred 
work  
ymc 
yumi
accessories
8020
abaco 
adidas  
alex munroe 
alexia  
angel jackson 
angie gooderham 
anton heunis 
jewellery 
ash 
bajra 
berman black 
bernstock speirs 
bertie 
betsey johnson 
birkenstock 
bloch 
blowfish 
botkier 
bottle top  enviro 
bourne 
bracher emden 
calvin klein 
calvin klein jeans 
carvela 
cath kidston 
causse gloves 
cc skye
chapeau claudette 
charlott vasberg 
cheeky monkey 
chie mihara 
coast 
converse 
cornelia jewellery 
crumpet 
dg jewellery 
david  scotti 
dents 
diesel 
diesel black gold
disaya 
disney 
disney couture 
dkny active
dolce vita 
dr martens 
dune 
dv
ela stone jewellery 
eley kishimoto 
emu
erotokritos 
erva 
eugenia kim 
fj scarves 
faith
farhi by nicole 
farhi 
feud
finsk
firetrap
fluff 
fornarina
fred perry
french connection
gaspard yurkievich 
gstar 
guess
h by hudson
harajuku lovers 
harlot 
havaianas 
helene berman 
house of harlow 
jewellery 
hunter
imoni 
irregular choice
j lo
jaeger
jas mb
jeepers peepers 
jennifer ouellette 
jessica kagan 
cushman 
jessica simpson 
johnny loves rosie 
johnstons 
juicy couture 
just cavalli 
kara ross 
karen millen
kate sheridan
kathryn amberleigh 
keds
killah
kitson jewellery 
kotur 
lacoste 
lala berlin 
lamb
laura tabor
laurence decade 
l’autre chose 
leigh  luca 
les nereides 
lipsy
lisa galibardy  
lotus
lulu guinness 
luxury rebel 
made
maniyak  
martine sitbon 
mcq
melissa
michael by michael 
kors 
minnetonka 
mischa barton 
miss lfire
miss sixty
mogil
monica vinader 
moschino cheap  
chic jewellery 
mukluk 
nike
nine west
nogoy
oasis
o’neil
opening ceremony
orla kiely 
paparazzi  
patrizia pepe 
paul  joe 
paul  joe sister 
paul frank 
people tree 
philip treacy 
philosophy by 
alberta ferretti 
pied a terre 
pinko 
poetic licence 
preen by thornton 
bregazzi 
pringle
puma 
rebecca minkoff 
reebok 
reiss
repetto 
rocket dog
salvador sapena 
satori  
see by chloe 
seychelles 
shellys 
shofolk 
snowjoggers 
solea 
sonia by sonia 
rykiel 
stephen webster 
steve madden 
steven
studio tmls 
superga 
surface to air 
susan caplan 
vintage jewellery 
swarovski 
tales from the earth 
tarina tarentino 
ted baker 
terra plana 
terry de havilland 
the earring boutique 
toms
traits 
twenty8twelve
ugg
united nude
vivienne westwood 
vivienne westwood 
for melissa
vjc versace jeans 
william sharp 
yarnz 
zoe  morgan 
beauty
anatomicals
anna lou
barry m
body boutique
bourjois
carmex
cath kidston
dainty doll
elegant touch wax
evo 
eyeko
eylure
fake bake
figs  rouge 
fudge
ghd
girls with attitude
hair rehab
hairdo by jessica 
simpson  ken 
paves
hei poa
jelly pong pong
jk jemma kidd 
korres
liparazzi
lizzie
models own 
mop
nails inc
naturaleve
op i
ole henriksen
pop beauty
rimmel london
rose  co
rose  co cherry 
kiss
seche 
skin doctors
st tropez
tangle teezer 
ted baker 
tigi bed head
tigi catwalk
tigi hardcore
tigi s factor
toni  guy
too faced
toxic twins
tweezerman
urban decay
young  pure 
  new
 exclusive wwwasoscom
08
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
fashion
10 deep 
1000 reasons 
55dsl
acne 
addict
addict outdoor
adidas
affliction
alexander mcqueen 
for puma 
alpha
amplified
april 77 
aquascutum 
arn 
atelier la durance 
ator berghaus 
aussie bum 
b store 
baracuta
ben sherman
ben sherman 
tailoring
bench
berghaus heritage 
bjorn borg
blue blood
bolongaro trevor
born
boss black
boss green 
boss orange
boxfresh
bsa
buckler
burlington
burro 
calvin klein
calvin klein 365
calvin klein pro 
stretch
calvin klein steel
canada goose
canadian sweater 
company  
carhartt 
carolyn massey 
cheap monday
chunk
cin2 
closed 
cold method 
comme des garcons 
comme des garcons 
shirt 
corgi 
crooks  castles 
dg
daniele alessandrini
day birger et 
mikkelsen
denham 
denim demon 
dickies
diesel
diesel black gold
dkny
dockers
dr denim
duck  cover 
earnest sewn 
edwin 
elc 
emporio armani
energie 
evisu
farah vintage
farhi
fat face 
fc72
fcuk
fila gold
filippa k
firetrap
fly 53
frank dandy
franklin  marshall
fred perry
fred perry classic 
fred perry laurel 
french connection
full circle
g star 
gabicci vintage
gant 
gap 
garbstone 
gilded age 
ginch gonch
gio goi
gloverall 
hackett 
hartford
henri lloyd
henrik vibskov 
hilfiger denim
hilfiger underwear
holland esq 
hom
hope
hugo boss golf 
hugo boss red 
humour
ian poulter
ijin 
j lindeberg
just a few of our mens brands
choice
incredible
awards
2009
drapers footwear awards —
etailer of the year
2008
in style shopping
awards 2008 —
best online shop 09
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
“during the year our product ranges grew 
by 157 resulting in 21300 options on site 
at the end of march 2009 up from 8300 at 
the end of march 2008”
jl by j lindeberg 
golf
john galliano 
john richmond 
john smedley
junk de luxe
just cavalli
kato 
kicking mule 
kidrobot 
ksubi 
kuyichi
kuyichi pure 
premium 
lacoste 
lamundane 
lavenham 
lee
lee jeans gold 
lee jeans originals 
levis
levis 501
logoshirt
lyle  scott heritage 
made in england 
maharishi
mango 
marc by marc 
jacobs 
mcq by alexander 
mcqueen
mhl by margaret 
howell 
mjolk
modern amusement
money 
moschino 
naked and famous 
nice collective
nigel hall
nike
nike acg 
nobody 
nudie
oak 
obey 
oliver spencer
one true saxon
o’neill outdoor
opening ceremony 
original penguin
pantherella
pants to poverty
paul  joe
penfield
peoples market
pepe
peter werth
polo golf 
polo jeans 
polo ralph lauren  
pringle  
pringle golf 
puffa 
puma 
puma 18hole golf 
puma by dasler 
raf by raf simons 
raf simons for fred 
perry 
real real genuine 
reigning 
reiss
religion
replay
ringspun
roberto cavalli
schott
seal kay
sexy bastard by 
buckler
shipley  halmos  
simon carter 
sloggi 
staple 
stone island denim 
studio da artisan 
sugar caine 
sunspel
superdry
supra 
supreme being
surface to air 
ted baker
the north face
thomas burberry
thomas pink 
tiger of sweden
timberland 
tommy hilfiger
tommy hilfiger golf 
true religion 
tuesday night band 
practice
two stoned 
unconditional 
velour 
victorinox 
villain  
vintage 55 
we are replay
what goes around 
whyred
wilson
wings and horns 
wonhundred 
wrangler
wrath arcane 
ymc
accessories
55dsl
acne
adidas
adidas originals
ally capellino
andersons
anthony peto
b store
bailey of hollywood
band of outsiders
ben sherman
bench
bill amberg
black dice
bolongaro trevor
boss hugo boss 
boss hugo boss 
green
boxfresh
brady
breil
bstore
calvin klein
camper
carhart 
carrera
casio
caterpillar raw 
cheap monday
cheapo
chris  tibor
chris habana 
citizen 
clarks
comme des 
garçons shirt
common projects 
converse
creative rec 
dg
die
dakine
diesel
diesel black gold
dkny
dockers
dolce  gabbana
dr martens
eastpak
emporio armani
energie
evisu
farhi
fila
filippa k
firetrap
fly 53 
fly london
franklin  marshall
fred perry
fred perry laurel
french connection
full circle
g shock
g star 
gh bass
gant
gio goi
gola
grenson
guess
h by hudson
hackett 
hartford
helmut lang 
henri lloyd
henrik vibskov
heuer
hilfiger denim
hope
hudson
hugo boss
hunter
ignite
ikon
illustrated people
independent 
insight
isavedlaurence
j fold
j lindeberg
jack purcell 
jas mb
jeepers peepers
jeffery west
john smedley
junk de luxe
k by karl lagerfeld
kangol
karl lagerfeld
keds
kenneth cole
kg by kurt geiger
kswiss
lacoste
lanyard 
levis
linda farrow 
projects
links of london 
logobag
luke roper 1977
manhattan portage
marc by marc 
jacobs
marc jacobs
mcq by alexander 
mcqueen
merrell
mhl by margaret 
howell
michael kors
minnetonka
modern amusement
nanny state
narrative
new balance
nice collective
nigel hall
nike
nooka
oakley
officine creative
oliver spencer
omega
one true saxon
o’neill
onitsuka tiger
opening ceremony
original penguin
paul  joe
peckham rye
penguin 
persol
peter werth
pf flyers
police
polo by ralph lauren
puma
raf by raf simons
raf simons
raf simons for 
eastpak
raf simons for fred
ralph lauren
rayban
red wing
reebok
replay
retro super future 
sunglasses
rogues gallery
rolex
schmoove
sebago
seven jewellery
shofolk
simon carter
sonia rykiel
sperry
spitfire
storm
superdry
superga
supreme being
tateossian
ted baker
the north face
timberland boot co
timex 
tommy hilfiger 
toy 
tretorn
tw steel 
uboat
vans
velour
victoria plimsolls
villain
vivienne westwood 
wrangler
ymc
ysl
zoe and morgan
new 
exclusive  wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
10
stock exchange code asc
delivering
— email and text 
alerts to inform 
customers
of deliveries
— 85 of orders 
trackable
— customer care 
available 247
— next day delivery 
cutoff time 6pm
— next day delivery
— standard delivery 
promise 2–3 days
— weekend orders 
delivered monday
— saturday delivery
— nominate your day 
of delivery
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009
asos outlet
in september 2008 we 
launched asos outlet a 
dedicated shop within asos 
selling separately sourced 
last season’s brands at up to 
70 off
case study
impeccable service following considerable investment in new
warehouse and carrier management systems
we will shortly be introducing a number of new
service propositions our next day delivery
service will be extended allowing customers
to place orders up to 600 pm this includes a
saturday delivery for orders placed on a friday
we will also be introducing a super saver option
and premium ‘same day’ service within london
today approximately 85 of our orders
are trackable
awards
2009
drapers etail awards —
best customer experience
cosmopolitan online
fashion awards — 
best for bargains
2008
company high
street awards —
best place to spend £50
11
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
our market
wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
— £438 billion
total uk online 
spend in 2008
— clothing 
footwear and 
accessories 
was the fastest 
growing sector
in 2008
   of market share 2009 2008 change
 1 next 631 896 265 bps
 2 asos 513 474 39 bps
 3 topshopcom 344 275 69 bps
 4 river island 317 261 56 bps
 5 new look 299 183 116 bps
 6 fat face 161 145 16 bps
 7 dorothy perkins 144 141 3 bps
 8 m and m direct 139 134 5 bps
 9 boden 130 131 1 bps
 10 laura ashley 119 122 3 bps
top 10 players july 2009
source hitwise
— 266 million 
total uk online 
shoppers in 2008
— the average uk 
online shopper 
spent £1502 in 2008
12 13
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
asos ranks 12 2008 17 in the top 50 uk shopping website by traffic july 2009
source hitwise
“according to a report by verdict the 
percentage of clothing bought online 
is expected to double in the next 3 to
4 years from 57 at the end of 2008
to over 11 by 2013”
wwwnextcouk 631 wwwtopshopcom 344
wwwriverislandcom 317
market share
513
of online
clothing visits
by traffic july 2009
 in top 50
12th
uk shopping 
websites
source verdict
uk spending
10
online to be 
clothing by 2010 
of 
 rank name share 
1 ebay uk 2160
2 amazon uk 490
3 argos 190
4 playcom 138
5 marks  spencer 114
6 ebay 110
7 amazoncom 093
8 tescocom 084
9 next 077
10 gumtreecom 074
11 hotukdeals 065
12 asos 062
13 tesco direct 057
14 ebay motors uk 055
15 topshopcom 042
16 bq online 041
17 tesco superstore 040
 rank name share 
18 hmvcom 039
19 shoppingcom uk 039
20 river island 038
21 littlewoods 038
22 ciao uk 038
23 currys 037
24 debenhams 037
25 john lewis 036
26 lovefilmcom 036
27 new look 036
28 ticketmaster united kingdom 035
29 dell emea 035
30 apple united kingdom 035
31 o2 shop 034
32 asda 033
33 comet uk 033
34 pc world ecommerce 031
 rank name share 
35 boots 030
36 game 030
37 my voucher codes 029
38 ikea 029
39 the orange shop 029
40 qvcukcom 027
41 screwfix direct 027
42 sainsbury’s 027
43 kelkoo united kingdom 027
44 thetechguyscom 027
45 hp 026
46 apple store 026
47 asda direct 026
48 halfords 025
49 nextag uk 025
50 vivastreet uk 023 wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
14
wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
what is asos
asos is the uk’s largest independent online fashion 
and beauty retailer offering around 25000 branded and 
own label fashion lines across womenswear menswear 
footwear accessories jewellery and beauty
who are your customers
we target fashion conscious 1634 year olds and attract 
over 54 million unique visitors a month as at 31 may 
2009 we had 24 million registered users and 12 million 
active customers which we define as people who shopped 
with us in the last 6 months
last year revenue was up 104 but in the 
first 13 weeks of the current year your sales 
were only up 52 have you gone
exgrowth
not at all you have to realise that to deliver last year’s 
results we had to buy 100 more stock than in the 
previous year in planning for the current year we were 
more conservative and this was reflected in the analysts’ 
forecasts at the start of the year when they were looking for 
sales growth of 35 to 40 for the year ending 31 march 
2010 it is still early in the financial year but if we achieve 
this level of growth we think it will be an outstanding 
achievement and we hope it will please our shareholders
you appear to be adopting a high risk 
strategy by expanding overseas given the 
current economic environment is this wise
this past year our international sales amounted to
£322m or just under 195 of total revenues this was 
achieved with very little marketing effort on our part but
as you can see from last year’s numbers international 
expansion is a major opportunity which we plan to take 
advantage of through a low risk approach as you are 
probably aware nick beighton recently joined us as 
finance director and following his arrival jon kamaluddin 
his predecessor who joined us in 2004 will be 
spearheading our overseas expansion
we are not planning a major international launch what 
you will see is a roll out of the asos brand with additional 
emphasis on particular countries as of today our 
customers have a choice of six currencies to choose from 
when they shop with us and we export to 58 countries 
worldwide this will increase to over 100 during the course 
of the current year
at the forefront of our thinking is customer service with 
distribution services available today we can now deliver to 
many places in europe and north america within two days 
which is probably as quick if not quicker than retailers in 
those countries this enables us to fulfil international
orders from our distribution centre in hemel hempstead 
without the major cost of having to build centres in 
overseas territories
questions  answers
questions 
and answers 15
wwwasoscom
“we are firmly established as the
uk’s premier online fashion business
and i remain positive about the
outlook for asos”
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
as shareholders are aware we have very sophisticated 
technology and during the past year we invested over 
£155m in our warehouse operation to meet growing 
demand we are continuing to benefit from the efficiencies 
that this ongoing investment in logistics is producing and 
this has given us confidence that we have the resources in 
place to expand overseas 
in due course probably within the next 18 months we will 
start to introduce country specific websites but this aspect 
of our plans is still at the development stage
with over £135m on your balance sheet
and no borrowings why are you failing to 
pay a dividend
the board looks at this issue very carefully but given what 
we believe to be the very exciting growth opportunities that 
still exist we feel that it is in the interest of our shareholders 
that we continue to invest in the business
nick robertson
chief executive officer
awards
2009
cosmopolitan online
fashion awards —
denim to die for
2008
maxim style awards —
brand of the year
15 wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
it gives me great pleasure to present another outstanding 
set of results for asos plc against the worst economic 
climate for retailers in recent memory the company 
has produced top line growth of over 100 has again 
increased its market share and has delivered outstanding 
profit growth 
it highlights the strength of the internet as a retail channel 
and its potential position in the retail landscape of 
the future
the outlook for 200910 remains uncertain whilst 
some indicators are showing positive signs the effect of 
unemployment job security and consumer debt has yet to 
be fully felt therefore we have been more conservative in 
our planning for the 200910 financial year 
that said the future of online clothing retail remains bright 
with the internet set to take an ever increasing share of the 
clothing market asos is ideally positioned to continue to 
exploit this both in the uk and increasingly internationally 
and we remain confident that this will be another year of 
strong growth
management incentive plan
during the 200910 financial year the remuneration 
committee of asos will be implementing a new 
management incentive plan for executive directors and 
selected other key employees of the company 
the purpose of the plan is to incentivise and reward the 
management of asos for superior performance through 
the achievement of challenging earnings per share “eps” 
growth targets and to align the interests of management 
with those of shareholders through a demanding total 
shareholder return “tsr” condition both the eps and 
tsr conditions will have to be met for awards to vest 
dividend
sustaining the levels of growth delivered to date has 
required and will continue to require significant capital 
investment in the company the board believes it is in the 
best interests of shareholders to continue to exploit the 
significant growth opportunities available to the business 
and consequently does not propose paying a dividend this 
year this policy remains under constant review
people
on behalf of the board i would like to welcome our new 
employees who joined us during the year and to thank
the team for their outstanding contribution to the
ongoing success of asos during the year asos
won 17 industry and consumer awards an
achievement of which they can all be very proud 
chairman s
statement
16 i would also like to welcome nick beighton
who joined us from luminar group holdings plc
as finance director and company secretary
and wish jon kamaluddin all the best in
his new role as international director 
lord alli
chairman
awards
2008
aim awards —
best performing share
over 5 years 
aim awards —
company of the year 
the online fashion store
17
wwwasoscom
“against the worst economic climate
for retailers in recent memory
the company has produced top
line growth of over 100” asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
business review
i am pleased to report another exceptional year for asos 
despite the challenging economic conditions sales grew 
by 104 to £1654m and profit before tax increased by 
93 to £141m 
we continued our programme of investment throughout 
the year delivering a number of product initiatives whilst 
building our team and infrastructure to support these 
superior levels of growth the continued popularity of 
internet shopping provided a strong backdrop and with 
the weakness in sterling our international sales took a 
significant stepup 
this year has started positively with sales for the 13 weeks 
to 26 june 52 ahead of the same period last year this 
compares to an increase of 95 for the same period last 
year clearly we are facing much tougher comparables 
and there is now some evidence to suggest that the rate of 
growth in online sales has begun to moderate in may 2009 
the interactive media in retail group imrg reported an 8 
year on year growth in clothing sales the lowest year on 
year increase since the index was launched nine years ago 
that said according to a report by verdict the percentage 
of clothing bought online is expected to double in the next 
3 to 4 years from 57 at the end of 2008 to over 11 by 
2013 at asos we remain committed to winning the online 
fashion race according to hitwise asos remains the 
second most visited apparel and accessories site on the 
internet in the uk and in may 2009 we became a top 10 
uk ecommerce site for the first time coming in 10th 
place a rise of eight places on the year we will continue 
our programme of investment albeit at more conservative 
levels in the shortterm in order to exploit the opportunities 
that exist both in the uk and internationally
chief executive s
statement
18
wwwasoscom
key performance indicators 200809 200708 increase
sales £’000 165395 81044 104
retail margin excluding third party and delivery  463 476 —
average basket value £ including value added tax 595 530 12
average units per basket 258 254 —
average selling price per unit £ including value added tax 2309 2089 11
returns  to sales by value 260 261 —
 international sales 195 100 —
number of orders ’000 3979 2235 78 the online fashion store
19
wwwasoscom
“we continued our programme of 
investment throughout the year 
delivering a number of product
initiatives whilst building our team
and infrastructure to support these
superior levels of growth”
international
our international business has grown strongly over the 
year and now represents 19 of our sales up from 10 in 
200708 sterling’s weakness particularly against the us 
dollar and the euro has assisted with this growth as has an 
increase in marketing activity in northern europe and the 
us during the year we increased the number of countries 
that we ship to from 34 to 58 our top five performing 
countries outside the uk were ireland denmark sweden 
france and the us
the board believes that international expansion represents 
the largest growth opportunity open to asos accordingly 
jon kamaluddin was appointed international director 
in april 2009 jon is responsible for developing and 
implementing our international strategy
we will continue to add to the number of countries that we 
ship to we will introduce flat rate shipping charges and we 
will increase our digital marketing activity ultimately we will 
introduce standalone country specific asos sites
during the first phase of our international expansion all 
orders will be fulfilled from our uk warehouse this will 
enable us to offer the full asos range of over 20000 lines 
without introducing significant additional stock risk this 
approach allows us to build scale in each local market 
ahead of significant infrastructure investment 
delivering incredible choice
during the year our product ranges grew by 157 
resulting in 21300 options on site at the end of march 
2009 up from 8300 at the end of march 2008 as at 
20 june 2009 there were 24700 options on the asos 
website up from 12260 a year prior we anticipate that 
we will extend this to approximately 30000 options for the 
autumnwinter season 
in september 2008 we launched asos outlet a dedicated 
shop within asos selling separately sourced last season’s 
brands at up to 70 off in february 2009 we launched 
designer brands at asos and little asos childrenswear 
our ownlabel ranges were also extended with the 
introduction of maternity and asos black a premium 
range we plan to launch an ownlabel childrenswear range 
and an ownlabel plus size range later in the year 
we welcomed a number of new brands to the site 
including gstar reiss warehouse and polo ralph lauren 
and we look forward to introducing both gap and mango 
in august 2009 this takes the total number of brands now 
represented on asos to 820 compared to 600 twelve 
months ago
delivering uncompromising presentation
the website received a complete overhaul in march 2009 
and we introduced a number of new navigation features to 
enable quick and easy browsing of the extended product 
ranges we also introduced a 360 degree view of all shoes 
and accessories and we introduced catwalk for menswear 
and for asos outlet  wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
20
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
chief executive’s statement continued
little asos
in february 2009 we launched 
little asos childrenswear 
we also plan to launch an 
ownlabel childrenswear range
case study
our 20 biggest brands are now represented by a “shop in 
shop” providing a rich brand experience for our customers 
and a unique distribution platform for our brand partners 
delivering impeccable service
following considerable investment in new warehouse and 
carrier management systems we will shortly be introducing 
a number of new service propositions our next day delivery 
service will be extended allowing customers to place orders 
up to 600 pm this includes a saturday delivery for orders 
placed on a friday we will also be introducing a super saver 
option and premium “same day” service within london 
today approximately 85 of our orders are trackable
community and social media
in 2008 we joined the conversation with customers through 
various social media starting official asos pages on 
facebook myspace and bebo on twitter our approach 
was slightly different in addition to officially providing real 
time news  offers customer care and service updates 
there are 55 members of the asos team across various 
departments actively talking to customers this more 
immediate and personal approach is resonating with our 
customers and we now have the largest twitter following of 
all uk retailers we have also introduced asos life which 
allows customers to talk to each other and key people 
within asos 
investing in infrastructure
over the past year we have invested in systems to support 
our back office operations of buying merchandising and 
fulfilment recently installing a new warehouse management 
system at our hemel hempstead warehouse this system 
will support our increasing range size international 
expansion as well as our demands for advanced delivery 
and returns options 
during the next twelve months we plan to continue 
our investment in systems focusing on merchandise 
management and stock planning and will further develop 
our website systems in preparation for our international 
expansion  awards
2009    
growth company awards — 
aim company of the year
2008   
esquire awards —
best credit crunch survivor
the online fashion store
21
wwwasoscom
subject to further investment in storage and handling 
equipment our site in hemel hempstead is capable of 
supporting annual sales of approximately £350m 
third party revenues
we have strengthened the team responsible for deriving 
revenue from advertising banners inserts list sales and 
display advertising in our magazine consequently after 
what was a somewhat disappointing year in this area we 
expect third party revenues to grow in the coming year 
summary and outlook
we are firmly established as the uk’s premier online fashion 
business and i remain positive about the outlook for asos 
first quarter sales are growing at 52 an exceptional 
performance given the current economic climate it is clear 
that the structural shift to online continues and i believe that 
asos is ideally placed to exploit it moreover international 
expansion is a key opportunity for asos and i expect our 
international business to grow substantially in the years 
to come
with threequarters of the financial year to go including the 
key christmas period it is too early to assess whether our 
current performance will continue for the full year that said 
i believe asos can look forward to another year of strong 
progress and development 
nick robertson
chief executive officer
“our international 
business has grown 
strongly over the year 
and now represents
19 of our sales” wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
22
the year ended march 2009 was another excellent year 
for asos with sales more than doubling and pretax profit 
increasing to £141m up 93 from £73m in the financial 
year 200708
strong retail sales up 108 were driven by a combination 
of higher customer traffic enhanced product choice and 
compelling customer promotions the sales growth rates 
were evenly split over the year delivery receipts increased 
less strongly than retail sales as we offered a range of 
delivery incentives over the christmas trading period
we saw a disappointing performance in third party 
revenues which declined 22 over the year this area of 
our business has now been strengthened significantly to 
address this performance going forward
finance director s
review
segmental analysis of revenues 
£’000 200809 200708 increase
uk  133165 73044 82
international  32230 8000 303
group revenues 165395 81044 104
£’000 200809 200708 increase
retail sales  149343 71685 108
delivery receipts  15084 8117 86
third party revenues  968 1242 22
total revenues 165395 81044 104
 advertising revenues 
revenues
an analysis of revenues is shown below
our revenues from international territories have grown by 
303 over the last year assisted by a weaker sterling 
against the euro and us dollar the largest sales territories 
outside the uk are ireland denmark sweden france and 
the us the online fashion store
23
wwwasoscom
gross profit
our gross profit increased 92 on the prior year and the 
group gross margin achieved was 433 20078 460 
the enhanced branded mix and promotional investment 
drove a 130 basis point dilution in the retail margin 
additionally we offered our customers several free delivery 
periods over the christmas trading period which although 
offering better value for our customers and incremental 
cash diluted our percentage gross margin this movement 
accounted for most of the decline in the group gross margin
during 200910 we expect a further easing of the group 
gross margin as a result of a continued increase in the mix
of branded versus own label products and increased 
sourcing costs resulting from adverse foreign currency 
movements 
during the year we invested again in recruiting people across 
the group including a significant strengthening of senior 
management resulting in a 117 increase in payroll and staff 
costs our headcount at the end of the year excluding the 
logistics team which is outsourced amounted to 441 people 
up from 222 at the end of the last financial year 
warehouse costs rose by 56 to £156m but delivered 
greater productivity year on year this operating cost ratio 
reduced from 111 last year excluding the warehouse 
provision to 94 in 200809
marketing costs increased by 52 to £64m these 
costs include the asos magazine production direct 
marketing creative and pr costs the largest element of 
this expenditure relates to the production of the magazine 
cost growth in this area was substantially lower than sales 
growth due to the timing of the easter edition and a more 
targeted mailing approach during the financial year
production costs were previously included in marketing 
costs and have been split out separately for this financial 
year the costs relate to preparing photographing editing 
operating costs
operating costs increased by 91 to £578m
£’000 200809 200708 increase
payroll and staff costs  22298  10279 117
warehousing  15566  9992 56
marketing  6430  4226 52
production 1764  891 98
other operating costs  9856  3954 149
depreciation 1850  980 89
operating costs 57764 30322 91
 of sales  349 374 250bps  wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
24
finance director’s review continued
and placing product images on the website as a result of 
the significant increase in the number of lines introduced to 
our website production costs increased 98 to £18m 
other costs include the head office running costs it 
infrastructure and legal and professional fees during the 
course of the year there were a number of investment 
step changes that have precipitated a higher running 
cost particularly in improving the system infrastructure 
and software the high growth rates experienced in the 
overseas territories have led to a number of oneoff costs 
relating to managing the legal and fiscal environment
a key element of our financial strategy for the 200910 
financial year will be to maximise the efficiency from our 
operational resources invested in the business while 
continuing to invest in supporting growth where necessary
operating profit
operating profit for the financial year 200809 increased by 
100 to £139m the operating margin weakened slightly 
from 86 in 200708 to 84 in 200809 the 270 basis 
points gross margin decline was therefore largely offset by 
an improvement in operating cost ratios 
finance income
while our cash balance increased during the financial 
year by £32m the financial income derived from these 
balances declined from £035m in 200708 to £027m in 
200809 as a result of lower interest rates
interest in joint venture
in september 2009 we acquired a 50 stake in a 
business called crooked tongues ltd for a nominal 
sum our share of losses for the first six months of this 
startup entity was £78000 the business website 
wwwcrookedtonguescom is a leading authority in trainers 
and sneakers this investment allows us to participate in 
sales from an additional customer segment
taxation
the effective tax rate for the group was 291 110 
basis points above the uk corporation tax rate of 280 
going forward we expect the effective rate of tax to be 
maintained around 1 ahead of the statutory rate the online fashion store
25
wwwasoscom
during the year we commenced our it strategy of 
migrating to tier 1 system and software solutions our 
capital expenditure was directed towards delivering an 
improved warehouse management system more robust 
data centre and better management information systems
we anticipate that our capital expenditure in the 200910 
financial year will be approximately £110m and will be 
deployed in a similar profile to the 200809 financial 
year spend 
cash flow and net cash
the group ended the financial year with a net cash position 
of £136m up from £104m at the end of march 2008 
major sources of cash inflow consisted of £158m of 
ebitda trade payables of £106m and other creditors 
of £42m 
during the year the company spent £19m funding the 
employee benefit trust ebt share options under the 
group’s share option schemes were exercised during the 
period raising £03m
all of the group’s investments continue to be funded from 
operating cash flow surplus funds are invested in short
term deposits with the objective of maximising fixed interest 
rate returns whilst providing the flexibility to fund ongoing 
operations it is not the group’s policy to engage in 
speculative activity or to use complex financial instruments
nick beighton
finance director
earnings per share
fully diluted earnings per share grew by 94 
capital expenditure
capital expenditure during the year amounted to £82m against £47m in the prior year
£’000  actual 200809 actual 200708
it   4781 944
warehouse  2749 2942
office fixtures and fitout  670 854
total  8200 4740
“our pre tax profit increased by 93
year on year” wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
26 26
wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
1 lord waheed alli
 chairman
2 nick robertson
 chief executive 
3 nick beighton
 finance director and
company secretary
4 peter williams
 nonexecutive director
5 jon kamaluddin
 international director
6 robert bready
 product and trading director
board 
of directors
1 23
4 56 27
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
 lord waheed alli
chairman
at present chairman of chorion ltd 
an intellectual property rights owning 
company and nonexecutive director 
of olga productions ltd
formerly managing director at
carlton television responsible for the 
production of all its programmes and 
previously he was the managing 
director of planet 24 one of the largest 
independent production companies in 
the uk which he founded with charlie 
parsons and bob geldof
he was appointed a working labour peer 
in july 1998 he is active in the house of 
lords where he takes a particular interest 
in issues concerning equality 
waheed is also a trustee of the elton 
john aids foundation vicepresident 
of unicef  chancellor of de montfort 
university president of the national 
youth theatre and a patron of a number 
of other voluntary organisations 
waheed is a member of the audit and 
remuneration committees
nick robertson
chief executive
nick started his career in 1987 with 
the advertising agency young and 
rubicam and in 1991 moved to carat 
the uk’s largest media planning and 
buying agency 
in 1995 he cofounded entertainment 
marketing a marketing services 
business and in 2000 he 
cofounded asoscom
nick beighton
finance director and 
company secretary
nick qualified as a chartered 
accountant with kpmg in nottingham 
after qualification nick worked out of 
the manchester office in transaction 
services and within the strategic 
business management group
nick moved to matalan in 1999 to 
work as head of finance he was then 
business change and it director before 
joining matalan’s retail board in 2003
nick was appointed to the luminar 
board as finance director in august 
2005 his appointment as finance 
director at asoscom came in
april 2009 
peter williams
nonexecutive director
peter is currently a nonexecutive 
director of asos plc the online fashion 
retailer cineworld group plc one of the 
uk’ s leading cinema chains and is a 
member of the design council
from december 2008 to may 2009 he 
was the executive director at jjb sports 
plc responsible for the turnaround 
strategy during that period he redefined 
the retail proposition renegotiated the 
banking facilities closed 2 loss making 
subsidiaries disposed of the leisure 
division restructured the plc board and 
implemented a company voluntary 
agreement cva – a first for a uk listed 
company
for 13 years up to 2004 peter worked 
for selfridges initially as chief financial 
officer and then as chief executive 
during its radical transformation from 
“grace brothers” to one of the world’ s 
leading department stores  following 
selfridges he was the chief executive of 
alpha airports group plc an international 
company specialising in tax and duty 
free retailing and airline catering
after qualifying as a chartered 
accountant with arthur andersen 
peter has held executive positions with 
accenture aiwa a division of sony 
bandive limited and freemans plc his 
previous nonexecutive positions have 
been with capital radio group plc and 
gcap media plc
jon kamaluddin
international director
jon kamaluddin began his career 
in corporate recovery at arthur 
andersen where he qualified as a 
chartered accountant
jon then joined marks  spencer 
where he spent 3 years in a number 
of finance positions including head of 
finance for the per una brand
jon joined asos in 2004 as finance 
director in april 2009 he was 
appointed international director in 
order to develop and implement a 
suitable international strategy for
the business
robert bready
product and trading director
robert bready began his career at 
river island where he held a variety 
of merchandising roles across 
womenswear and menswear
after five years robert moved to the 
arcadia group where he spent eight 
years working across young fashion 
retailers miss selfridge and topman 
eventually becoming a senior executive 
for the miss selfridge brand
in 2005 robert joined asoscom and 
was quickly promoted from head of 
merchandising to product and
trading director wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
28 28
wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
7 hash ladha
 marketing and
operations director
8 james hart
ecommerce director
9 stefan pesticcio
buying director
menswear kidswear
and outlet
10 caren downie
buying director
womenswear
11 gary mudie
it director
operating 
board
7 8
10 11
9 29
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
hash ladha
marketing and operations director
hash started his career at arcadia 
working at evans then topman after 
which he joined bhs as marketing 
manager for the menswear and 
home divisions in 2000 he became 
head of marketing for austin reed 
in 2003 he joined new look as 
business development director to 
launch menswear and then became 
marketing director for all divisions 
hash joined asoscom in
september 2007 
james hart
ecommerce director
james started his career in 1996 
at entertainment marketing and 
was invited to join asos as its first 
employee in 1999 over the last 
10 years james has held various 
positions focused on improving the 
online customer journey culminating 
in his appointment to the operating 
board in april 2008
stefan pesticcio
buying director menswear kidswear 
 outlet
stefan pesticcio began his career 
within the buying function at river 
island 20 years ago he moved to 
top man at the arcadia group where 
he stayed for 8 years before moving 
onto debenhams at debenhams 
he covered various buying and 
designer roles across ownlabel 
brands including maine new england 
and jasper conran his last role at 
debenhams was head of menswear 
before joining asoscom in october 
2007 as menswear buying director 
along with menswear stefan has 
also recently taken responsibility of 
kidswear and outlet
caren downie
buying director womenswear
during caren downie’s career she 
has worked for names such as 
warehouse french connection 
wallis  pilot she joined topshop in 
1998 as head of buying and became 
buying director in 2004 during the 
9½ years caren spent at topshop 
she was influential in helping shape 
the success of the brand including 
their successful new generation 
partnership with london fashion 
week caren joined asoscom 
in 2008 as womenswear buying 
director
gary mudie
it director
gary mudie commenced his career at 
the arcadia group holding early roles 
within finance and retail before moving 
into a group it role after ten years 
gary spent two years at us consulting 
firm computer sciences corporation 
before moving into the media sector 
with universal music establishing 
the early digital music platforms for 
future online downloads in 2003 he 
moved to paperchase later acquired 
by us borders group working with 
both uk and international divisions as 
global chief information officer gary 
joined asoscom as it director in 
2008 and in 2009 assumed additional 
responsibilities for logistics wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
30
policy on corporate governance
application of principles
although not formally required to do so the directors 
have sought to embrace the principles contained in the 
combined code 2003 as revised in june 2006 “the 
code” applicable to fully listed companies in formulating 
and applying the company’s corporate governance 
policies these policies are monitored to ensure that they 
are appropriate to the company’s circumstances and 
comply as far as possible with the provisions of the code 
given the size of the company
directors
the company is managed by a board of directors and 
they have the necessary skills and experience to effectively 
operate and control the business there are six directors 
in total of whom two are nonexecutive directors lord 
waheed alli and peter williams the nonexecutive 
directors comprise both the audit and remuneration 
committees the board meets once a month and the 
directors make every effort to attend all board meetings
the board is responsible for taking all major strategic 
decisions and also addressing any significant operational 
matters in addition the board reviews the risk profile of the 
company and ensures that an adequate system of internal 
control is in place management information systems are in 
place to enable the directors to make informed decisions to 
properly discharge their duties
the roles of the chairman and the chief executive are 
separate the chairman is responsible for the running of 
the board and he meets regularly and separately with the 
chief executive to discuss matters for the board as the 
business has developed the composition of the board 
has been under constant review to ensure that it remains 
appropriate to the managerial requirements of the 
company onethird of the directors retire annually in 
rotation in accordance with the company’s articles of 
association this enables the shareholders to decide on 
the election of their company’s board
the board takes decisions regarding the appointment of 
new directors as a whole and this is only done following 
a thorough assessment of potential candidates’ skills and 
suitability for the role 
all directors are offered appropriate training to develop their 
knowledge and ensure they remain up to date in relevant 
matters for which they have responsibility as a member of 
the board
the chairman’s statement and chief executive’s statement 
included in this annual report give the board’s current 
assessment of the company’s prospects the directors 
are responsible for preparing the financial statements as 
set out in the statement of directors’ responsibilities the 
responsibilities of the auditors are set out in their report
remuneration committee
details concerning the composition and meetings of the 
remuneration committee are contained in the directors’ 
remuneration report on page 32
audit committee
during the period the audit committee which is chaired by 
peter williams a nonexecutive director has met twice with 
corporate governance 31
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
the external auditors being in attendance the committee 
has a responsibility for reviewing the financial statements 
provided to shareholders in addition the committee 
reviews the business and financial risks and internal 
controls as described below
the duties of the committee also include ensuring that the 
auditors provide a costeffective service to the company 
and remain objective and independent and to consider 
from time to time the need for an internal audit function
relations with shareholders
the company has institutional shareholders and is where 
practicable willing to enter into a dialogue with them the 
chief executive and the finance director meet regularly 
with institutional investors within the confines of relevant 
legislation and guidance
the board invites communication from its private investors 
and encourages participation by them at the annual 
general meeting agm all board members present at the 
agm are available to answer questions from shareholders 
notice of the agm in excess of 21 clear days is given and 
the business of the meeting is conducted with separate 
resolutions voted on initially by a show of hands and with 
the result of the voting being clearly indicated
internal control
the board is responsible for the company’s system of 
internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness such a 
system is designed to mitigate the risk of failure to achieve 
business objectives and can only provide reasonable but not 
absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss
the board is of the view that there is an ongoing process 
for identifying evaluating and managing the company’s 
significant risks and that it has been in place for the period 
ended 31 march 2009 and up to the date of approval of 
the annual report and financial statements and that it is 
regularly reviewed by the board
the internal control procedures are delegated to executive 
directors and senior management in the company 
operating within a clearly defined departmental structure 
the board regularly reviews the internal control procedures 
in the light of the ongoing assessment of the company’s 
significant risks on a monthly basis management 
accounts including a comprehensive forecast are 
reviewed by the board in order to provide effective 
monitoring of financial performance at the same time the 
board considers other significant strategic organisational 
and compliance issues to ensure that the company’s 
assets are safeguarded and financial information and 
accounting records can be relied upon the board formally 
monitors monthly progress on each development
going concern
the directors consider that the group and the company 
have adequate resources to remain in operation for 
the foreseeable future and have therefore continued to 
adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial 
statements the group has a strong balance sheet with 
no external financing and highly experienced management 
to help grow the business in future years the group will 
also benefit from a significant migration to online shopping 
enabling it to benefit from increased sales in the future  wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
32
remuneration committee
the members of the remuneration committee are peter 
williams chairman of the remuneration committee 
and lord waheed alli the chief executive officer of 
the company is also invited to attend the meetings of 
the remuneration committee but is absent when his 
remuneration is under discussion
role of the remuneration committee
the remuneration committee reviews and determines on 
behalf of the board and shareholders of the company the 
pay benefits and other terms of service of the executive 
directors of the company and the broad pay strategy with 
respect to senior company employees during the year 
the remuneration committee received advice on executive 
remuneration from hewitt new bridge street
best practice
as the company is aimlisted it is not legally required to set 
out its remuneration policy but is doing so on a voluntary 
basis to the extent that such principles are relevant to the 
current circumstances of the company the provisions of 
inter alia the directors’ remuneration report regulations 
2002 and the combined code are taken into account
remuneration policy
the objective of the company’s remuneration policy is 
to attract and retain the directors and senior executives 
needed to run the company in a costeffective manner
the remuneration policy of the company has six principal 
components
1 basic salaries — basic salaries are determined by the 
remuneration committee bearing in mind the salaries 
paid in aimlisted and other small market capitalisation 
retail companies within that frame of reference it is 
intended that pay should be at or near the median level
2 pensions — defined contribution pension provision of 
15 of salary is offered to the executive directors
3 bonuses — bonuses are payable according to 
the achievement by the company of certain pre
determined profit before tax targets the level of 
bonuses payable on achievement of the targets is set 
at the level perceived correct to provide the necessary 
incentives for executive directors 
4 performance share plan — the company established 
a performance share plan in 2006 for the executive 
directors and senior employees the scheme is 
overseen by the remuneration committee which shall 
determine the terms under which eligible individuals 
may be invited to participate
5 share option scheme — the company has in place 
a share option scheme covering senior employees 
under which share options are normally granted once 
a year the exercise price of the options granted 
under the scheme is set equal to the market value of 
the company’s shares at the time of grant the share 
option scheme is overseen by the remuneration 
committee there is currently no intention to make any 
new share option grants under this scheme 
directors’ remuneration report 33
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6 management incentive plan — the company will 
establish a new management incentive plan during 
2009 which the remuneration committee will 
oversee and determine the terms under which eligible 
individuals may be invited to participate participants 
in this scheme will not be granted an award of shares 
under the performance share plan in the year in which 
they have received an award under the management 
incentive plan members will be required to invest their 
own money based on a multiple of gross salary to buy 
shares in the company investment shares options 
will then be granted over shares incentive shares the 
number of incentive shares will be defined as a multiple 
of investment shares dependent on performance 
against stretching earnings per share “eps” and 
total shareholders return “tsr” performance criteria 
and subject to a maximum for the 2009 awards the 
tsr performance condition relates to the company’s 
performance measured against a notional investment 
in all of the companies in the ftse all share general 
retailers index over the three year period commencing 
1 april 2009
directors’ remuneration
the aggregate remuneration paid to the directors during the period was as follows
 
 salary bonuses pensions march 2009 march 2008
director £ £ £  £  £
lord waheed alli — — — — —
peter williams 41000 — — 41000 30000
nick robertson 280000 156800 — 436800 352500
jon kamaluddin 190000 106400 28500 324900 210000
rob bready 220000 123200 33000 376200 262500
  731000 386400 61500 1178900 855000 wwwasoscom
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directors’ remuneration report continued
directors’ service contracts
all executive directors are employed under service contracts the services of all executive directors may be terminated by 
the provision of a maximum of 12 months’ notice by the company and the individual services of nonexecutive directors 
may be terminated by the provision of a maximum of 3 months notice by the company and the individual
directors’ share options
details of options for the directors who served during the year are as follows
      range of
 31 march   31 march exercisable exercise 
director 2008  granted  exercised   2009  date prices
lord waheed alli 1579657 — — 1579657 2001–2011 127p
peter williams 100000 — — 100000 2006–2016 945p
nick robertson 1179599 — 339599 840000 2005–2016 102p — 98p
jon kamaluddin 471000 — 10000 461000 2006–2016 435p — 98p
rob bready 285000 — — 285000 2007–2018 53p — 98p
the market price of ordinary shares at 31 march 2009 was 301p 2008 248p and the range during the period was from 
1955p to 4200p 2008 112p to 284p 35
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directors’ performance share plan
details of performance share plans for the directors who served during the year are as follows
   31 march  31 march vesting
director    2008 granted 2009 date
lord waheed alli   — — — —
peter williams   — — — —
nick robertson   292992 61635 354627 2009–2011
jon kamaluddin   233781 41823 275604 2009–2011
rob bready   291619 48427 340046 2009–2011
saye plan
the company purchased the following shares for directors under the saye plan
    31 march   31 march
director    2008 granted 2009
lord waheed alli    — — —
peter williams    — — —
nick robertson    — 3319 3319
jon kamaluddin    — 3319 3319
rob bready    — 3319 3319 wwwasoscom
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the directors submit their report and audited financial 
statements of the group and the company for the year 
ended 31 march 2009
principal activities
the principal activity of the company is that of a 
holding company the principal activity of its subsidiary 
undertakings is that of internet retailing
business review and future developments
the results for the year and the financial position of the 
group are shown in the financial statements review of the 
business and future developments of the group is within 
the chief executive’s statement and finance director’s 
review pages 18 to 25
principal risks and uncertainties
there are a number of risks that face the group in the 
course of conducting its business operations although not 
exhaustive the following list highlights the principal issues
economic and market risks
the group’s performance is directly impacted by the 
economic environment and competitor pricing consumer 
spending is integral to achieve sales growth the group 
strives to deliver value to all customers via investment in 
quality and price alongside the development of extensive 
product ranges
competitive activity
internet retailing is global and highly competitive 
competitive pressures are increasing in the united 
kingdom as high street retailers continue to extend their 
product offering not only in stores but to also incorporate 
online shopping in order for the company to remain 
competitive in the marketplace a proactive approach is 
adopted to remain up to date with competitor activity and 
consumer trends
employee engagement and retention
at year end the group consists of 441 employees who 
are central to the group’s success in order for effective 
and efficient operations within the workplace the group 
relies on professional relationships amongst colleagues 
and invests in staff training and development the group 
ensures employees are provided with conditions for fulfilling 
careers through the employment policies competitive 
remuneration and benefits packages it offers staff
health and safety 
the group has programmes and policies in operation 
to supply team members and those with access to the 
group’s facilities with orientation and training on safe 
workplace expectations and practices there is no 
guarantee however that these practices are effectively 
performed in all circumstances
supply chain 
the group exists within a complex supply chain much 
effort is placed on working with suppliers and the 
warehouse to manage potential risk of interruptions and 
delays in supply or distribution that may adversely impact 
on trade
the group has adopted the ethical trading initiative “eti” 
code of conduct which is extremely stringent on child 
directors’ report 37
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labour we ensure that all new and existing suppliers meet 
our ethical policies and do not use any child labour
fraud 
the group has to be constantly vigilant against fraudulent 
transactions which are a common occurrence within 
internet retailing investment is placed in systems that 
monitor and control the impact of fraud which if not 
managed correctly could be significant
compliance
the group must comply with regulatory requirements 
especially in relation to employment competition and 
environmental issues planning pensions and taxation 
legislation over the company’s products and services the 
group adheres to strict compliance practices with regular 
audits and reviews in addition to monitoring of regulatory 
developments
it systems and infrastructure 
to trade the group is dependent on its it infrastructure 
significant impact on the business could result from a 
failure in these systems regular testing and updates are 
undertaken by the group to ensure the continued integrity 
and efficiency of its systems
environmental social and community issues 
in the next few months we will take the responsibility 
of making a change in our work on climate and the 
environment we are ambitious to reduce emissions in 
our distribution networks and are working on a plan to 
implement these changes to provide best quality choice 
and value for money for our customers we need strong 
and constructive relationships with our suppliers we 
will continue to monitor these relationships with existing 
suppliers and ensure that new suppliers meet our policies 
of fair trading 
research and development
the group does not carry out research and development 
activities 
results and dividends
the audited financial statements for the 12 months to 31 
march 2009 are set out on pages 42 to 78 the group 
profit after tax for the financial year was £100m 2008 
£51m which will be transferred to reserves the directors 
do not recommend the payment of a dividend 2008 £nil 
subsequent events
no matter which is material to the operations of the group 
has occurred between the balance sheet date and the 
date of approval of the financial statements
directors 
the directors who held office during the year and up to the 
date of signing the financial statements were
lord w alli
peter williams
nick robertson
jon kamaluddin 
robert bready
nick beighton appointed 27 april 2009 wwwasoscom
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38
statement of directors’ responsibilities
the directors are responsible for preparing the annual 
report and the financial statements in accordance with 
applicable law and regulations
company law requires the directors to prepare financial 
statements for each financial year under that law the 
directors have elected to prepare the group and parent 
company financial statements in accordance with 
international financial reporting standards ifrss as 
adopted by the european union the financial statements 
are required by law to give a true and fair view of the state 
of affairs of the company and the group and of the profit 
or loss of the group for that period
in preparing those financial statements the directors are 
required to
●  select suitable accounting policies and then apply them 
consistently
●  make judgements and estimates that are reasonable 
and prudent
●  state that the financial statements comply with ifrss 
as adopted by the european union 
●  prepare the financial statements on the going concern 
basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the 
group will continue in business in which case there 
should be supporting assumptions or qualifications 
as necessary 
the directors confirm that they have complied with the 
above requirements in preparing the financial statements
the directors are responsible for keeping proper 
accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy 
at any time the financial position of the company and the 
group and to enable them to ensure that the financial 
statements comply with the companies act 1985 they 
are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the 
company and the group and hence for taking reasonable 
steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other 
irregularities
the directors are responsible for the maintenance and 
integrity of the company’s website and legislation in 
the united kingdom governing the preparation and 
dissemination of financial statements may differ from 
legislation in other jurisdictions
payment of creditors
it is the policy of the group in respect of all its creditors 
where reasonably practicable to settle the payment with 
those creditors according to the terms formally agreed 
with them
the creditor payment period for the group throughout the 
financial year under review is 73 days 2008 68 days
the creditor payment period for the company throughout 
the financial year under review is nil 2008 nil
directors’ report continued 39
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donations
during the year charitable donations totalling £26560 
2008 £3950 were made by the group the majority of 
this donation was made to the retail trust retail trust 
is the principal charity of the retail sector they operate 
helplines to support advice and provide counselling to 
everyone working in or retired from the retail industry
financial risk management
the group’s policies on market risk credit risk liquidity 
risk and capital risk management have been considered in 
note 23 
treasury shares
the asoscom limited employee benefit trust ebt 
was set up to satisfy awards granted under the asos 
performance share plan and incentive scheme psp 2006 
and the saye scheme 2008 the trustees of the plan are 
ogier employee benefit trustee limited and are resident 
in jersey details of treasury shares held by the group are 
shown in note 18 of the financial statements 
directors’ indemnities
the company maintains liability insurance for its directors 
and officers which is a qualifying third party indemnity 
provision for the purposes of the companies act 2006
going concern
the directors consider that the group and the company 
have adequate resources to remain in operation for 
the foreseeable future and have therefore continued to 
adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial 
statements the group has a strong balance sheet with no 
external financing and a highly experienced management 
to help grow the business in future years the group will 
continue to benefit from a significant migration to online 
shopping enabling it to benefit from increased sales in the 
future 
statement on disclosure of 
information to auditors
the directors who held office at the date of the approval 
of this directors’ report confirm that so far as they are 
aware there is no relevant audit information of which the 
company auditors are unaware and each director has 
taken all the steps that heshe ought to have taken as a 
director to ensure the board is aware of any relevant audit 
information and to establish that the company auditors are 
aware of that information 
independent auditors
pricewaterhousecoopers llp have expressed their 
willingness to continue in office as auditors and a resolution 
proposing their reappointment will be submitted to the 
forthcoming annual general meeting
by order of the board
n beighton
finance director
second floor
registered office
greater london house
london nw1 7fb wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
40
independent auditors’ report to the 
members of asos plc
we have audited the group and parent company financial 
statements the ‘‘financial statements’’ of asos plc 
for the year ended 31 march 2009 which comprise the 
consolidated income statement the group and company 
statements of changes in equity the consolidated 
balance sheet the company balance sheet the 
consolidated cash flow statement the company cash 
flow statement and the related notes these financial 
statements have been prepared under the accounting 
policies set out therein 
respective responsibilities of directors 
and auditors
the directors’ responsibilities for preparing the annual 
report and the financial statements in accordance with 
applicable law and international financial reporting 
standards ifrss as adopted by the european union are 
set out in the statement of directors’ responsibilities
our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in 
accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements 
and international standards on auditing uk and ireland 
this report including the opinion has been prepared 
for and only for the company’s members as a body in 
accordance with section 235 of the companies act 1985 
and for no other purpose we do not in giving this opinion 
accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or 
to any other person to whom this report is shown or into 
whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by 
our prior consent in writing
we report to you our opinion as to whether the financial 
statements give a true and fair view and have been 
properly prepared in accordance with the companies act 
1985 we also report to you whether in our opinion the 
information given in the directors’ report is consistent 
with the financial statements the information given in 
the directors’ report includes that specific information 
presented in the chief executive’s statement and the 
finance director’s review that is crossreferred from the 
business review section of the directors’ report 
in addition we report to you if in our opinion the company 
has not kept proper accounting records if we have not 
received all the information and explanations we require 
for our audit or if information specified by law regarding 
directors’ remuneration and other transactions is 
not disclosed
we read other information contained in the annual report 
and consider whether it is consistent with the audited 
financial statements the other information comprises 
only the company information chairman’s statement the 
chief executive’s statement the finance director’s review 
the corporate governance statement the directors’ 
remuneration report and the directors’ report we 
consider the implications for our report if we become aware 
of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies 
with the financial statements our responsibilities do not 
extend to any other information 41
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basis of audit opinion
we conducted our audit in accordance with international 
standards on auditing uk and ireland issued by the 
auditing practices board an audit includes examination 
on a test basis of evidence relevant to the amounts and 
disclosures in the financial statements it also includes an 
assessment of the significant estimates and judgements 
made by the directors in the preparation of the financial 
statements and of whether the accounting policies are 
appropriate to the group’s and company’s circumstances 
consistently applied and adequately disclosed
we planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all 
the information and explanations which we considered 
necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence 
to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements 
are free from material misstatement whether caused by 
fraud or other irregularity or error in forming our opinion we 
also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of 
information in the financial statements
opinion
in our opinion
●  the group financial statements give a true and fair 
view in accordance with ifrss as adopted by the 
european union of the state of the group’s affairs as 
at 31 march 2009 and of the group’s profit and cash 
flows for the year then ended
●  the parent company financial statements give a true 
and fair view in accordance with ifrss as adopted by 
the european union as applied in accordance with the 
provisions of the companies act 1985 of the state of 
the parent company’s affairs as at 31 march 2009 and 
cash flows for the year then ended
●  the financial statements have been properly prepared 
in accordance with the companies act 1985 and
●  the information given in the directors’ report is 
consistent with the financial statements
pricewaterhousecoopers llp
chartered accountants and registered auditors
10 bricket road
st albans
herts
al1 3jx
26 june 2009 wwwasoscom
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42
consolidated income statement
for the year ended 31 march 2009
    31 march 31 march
    2009 2008
   notes £’000 £’000
revenue    2 165395 81044
cost of sales    93696 43760
gross profit    71699 37284
administrative expenses    57764 30322
operating profit   3 13935 6962
share of post tax losses of joint venture    10 78 —
finance income   5 268 349
profit before tax    14125 7311
income tax expense   6 4116 2258
profit for the year from continuing operations    10009 5053
profit for the year    10009 5053
earnings per share    
basic   7 136p 69p
fully diluted   7 128p 66p
     43
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statements of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 march 2009
 share share retained treasury
 capital premium earnings shares total
group £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
balance as at 1 april 2008 2564 3356 10967 943 15944
shares allotted in the year 26 252 — — 278
purchase of shares by employee benefit trust — — — 1929 1929
share options charge — — 262 — 262
profit for the year — — 10009 — 10009
tax on share options — — 1145 — 1145
balance as at 31 march 2009 2590 3608 22383 2872 25709
balance as at 1 april 2007 2544 3128 2949 236 8385
shares allotted in the year 20 228 — — 248
purchase of shares by employee benefit trust — — — 707 707
share options charge — — 477 — 477
profit for the year — — 5053 — 5053
tax on share options — — 2488 — 2488
balance as at 31 march 2008 2564 3356 10967 943 15944
    restated
  share share retained
  capital premium earnings total
company  £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
balance as at 1 april 2008   2564 3356 3694 2226
shares allotted in the year  26 252 — 278
loss for the year  — — 267 267
share options charge  — — 262 262
balance as at 31 march 2009  2590 3608 3699 2499
balance as at 1 april 2007 as previously reported  2544 3128 4605 1067
adjustment for share options charge  — — 554 554
balance as at 1 april 2007 — restated  2544 3128 4051 1621
shares allotted in the year  20 228 — 248
loss for the year  — — 120 120
share options charge  — — 477 477
balance as at 31 march 2008  2564 3356 3694 2226 wwwasoscom
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consolidated balance sheet
as at 31 march 2009
  2009 2008
  notes  £’000  £’000 £’000
noncurrent assets   
goodwill  8  1060  1060
property plant and equipment  9  11578 5590
interest in joint venture  10  162 —
deferred tax asset  12  3562 2876
    16362 9526
current assets   
inventories  13 28085  11694
trade and other receivables  14 3404  4778
cash and cash equivalents   13587  10369
    45076  26841
current liabilities   
trade and other payables  15 34135  18648
current tax liabilities   1594  1095
   35729  19743
net current assets    9347 7098
noncurrent liabilities   
provisions for other liabilities and charges  16  — 680
net assets    25709 15944
equity   
called up share capital  17  2590 2564
share premium    3608 3356
treasury shares    2872 943
retained earnings    22383 10967
shareholders’ equity    25709 15944
the financial statements on pages 42 to 78 were approved by the board on 26 june 2009 and signed on its behalf
n robertson
director
n beighton
director 45
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company balance sheet
as at 31 march 2009
  2009 2008
  notes  £’000  £’000 £’000
noncurrent assets     
investments  11  2293 2031
current assets     
trade and other receivables  14 484  502
cash and cash equivalents   103  74
   587  576
current liabilities     
trade and other payables  15 381  381
net current assets    206 195
net assets    2499 2226
equity     
called up share capital  17  2590 2564
share premium    3608 3356
retained earnings    3699 3694
shareholders’ equity    2499 2226
the financial statements on pages 42 to 78 were approved by the board on 26 june 2009 and signed on its behalf
n robertson
director
n beighton
director wwwasoscom
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46
consolidated cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 march 2009
    31 march 31 march
    2009 2008
   notes £’000 £’000
operating profit    13935 6962
adjusted for     
depreciation charge   9 1850 963
loss on disposal of property plant and equipment    — 17
increase in inventories    16391 6011
decreaseincrease in trade and other receivables    1374 3109
increase in trade and other payables    15487 11418
decreaseincrease in provision for other liabilities and charges    680 680
impairment of property plant and equipment    362 254
share options charge    262 477
cash generated from operations    16199 11651
taxation paid    3158 1811
net cash generated from operating activities    13041 9840
cash flow from investing activities    
payments to acquire property plant and equipment   9 8200 4740
payments to acquire interest in joint venture    10 240 —
finance income   5 268 349
net cash from investing activities    8172 4391
cash flow from financing activities     
proceeds from issue of ordinary shares    278 248
purchase of own shares by employee benefit trust    1929 707
net cash from financing activities    1651 459
net cash generated from continuing operations   21 3218 4990
opening cash and cash equivalents    10369 5379
closing cash and cash equivalents   21 13587 10369 47
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    31 march 31 march
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
operating loss    267 120
adjusted for   
decreaseincrease in trade and other receivables    18 78
decrease in trade and other payables    — 1
cash used in operating activities    249 199
cash flow from financing activities   
proceeds from issue of ordinary shares    278 248
net cash from financing activities    278 248
net increase in cash and cash equivalents    29 49
opening cash and cash equivalents    74 25
closing cash and cash equivalents    103 74
company cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 march 2009 wwwasoscom
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48
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
1 accounting policies
asos plc is a public limited company incorporated and domiciled in 
the united kingdom
the principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these 
consolidated and parent company financial statements are set out 
below these policies have been consistently applied to all the years 
presented unless otherwise stated
a basis of preparation
the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern and 
historical cost basis the principal accounting policies adopted are 
set out below
the financial statements for both the parent company and the 
group have been prepared in accordance with international financial 
reporting standards ifrs and international financial reporting 
interpretation committee ifric interpretations as adopted by the 
european union and those parts of the companies act 1985 and 
2006 as applicable to companies reporting under ifrs the directors 
have taken advantage of the exemption available under section 230 
of the companies act 1985 and have not presented an income 
statement for the company alone
the group and company financial statements are presented in 
sterling and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds 
except where otherwise indicated
recent accounting developments
standards amendments and interpretations effective for 
20089 or issued and early adopted
in preparing the group financial statements for the current year the 
group has adopted the following new ifrs amendments to ifrs 
and ifric interpretations which have not had a significant impact on 
the results or net assets of the group
amendments to ias 39 ‘financial instruments recognition and 
measurement’ and ifrs 7 ‘financial instruments disclosures’ 
effective from 1 july 2008 these amendments permit the 
reclassification of financial assets in particular circumstances 
the adoption of the amendments to ias 39 and ifrs 7 has had 
no impact on the results or net assets of the group
ifric 12 ‘service concession arrangements’ effective for annual 
periods beginning on or after 1 january 2008 this interpretation 
applies to public sector service concession operators and explains 
how to account for the obligations undertaken and rights received 
in service concession arrangements no member of the group is an 
operator and hence the adoption of ifric 12 has had no impact on 
the results or net assets of the group 
standards amendments and interpretations not yet effective 
but not expected to have a significant impact on the group
ifrs 8 ‘operating segments’ effective for annual periods beginning 
on or after 1 january 2009 this new standard replaces ias 14 
‘segment reporting’ and requires segmental information to be 
presented on the same basis that management uses to evaluate 
performance of its reporting segments in its management reporting
amendment to ias 23 ‘borrowing costs’ effective for annual periods 
beginning on or after 1 january 2009 the standard has been revised 
to require capitalisation of borrowing costs when such costs relate to 
a qualifying asset 
ifric 14 ‘the limit on a defined benefit asset minimum funding 
requirements and their interaction’ effective for annual periods 
beginning on or after 1 january 2009 as endorsed by the eu 
this interpretation provides guidance on how to assess the limit 
on the amount of surplus in a defined benefit scheme that can be 
recognised as an asset under ias 19 ‘employee benefits’  49
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1 accounting policies continued
ifric 13 ‘customer loyalty programmes’ effective for annual 
periods beginning on or after 1 july 2008 this interpretation requires 
customer loyalty award credits to be accounted for as a separate 
component of the sales transaction in which they are granted 
and therefore part of the fair value of the consideration received is 
allocated to the award credits and deferred over the period that the 
award credits are fulfilled
ifric 15 ‘agreements for the construction of real estate’ effective 
for annual periods beginning on or after 1 january 2009
ifric 16 ‘hedges of a net investment in a foreign operation’ 
effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 october 2008
ifric 17 ‘distributions of noncash assets to owners’ effective for 
annual periods beginning on or after 1 july 2009
ifric 18 ‘transfers of assets from customers’ effective for transfers 
of assets from customers received on or after 1 july 2009
standards amendments and interpretations not yet effective 
and under review as to their impact on the group
amendment to ias 1 ‘presentation of financial statements’ effective 
for annual periods beginning on or after 1 january 2009
amendment to ias 27 ‘consolidated and separate financial 
statements’ effective for annual periods beginning on or after 
1 july 2009
amendment to ias 32 ‘financial instruments presentation’ and ias 
1 ‘presentation of financial statements’ — puttable instruments 
and instruments with obligations arising on liquidation effective for 
annual periods beginning on or after 1 january 2009
amendment to ias 39 ‘financial instruments recognition and 
measurement’— eligible hedged items effective for annual periods 
beginning on or after 1 july 2009
amendments to ifrs 1 ‘firsttime adoption of ifrss’ and ias 27 
‘consolidated and separate financial statements’ — cost of an 
investment of a subsidiary jointly controlled entity or associate 
effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 
1 january 2009
amendment to ifrs 2 ‘sharebased payment’ — vesting conditions 
and cancellations effective for annual periods beginning on or after 
1 january 2009
amendments to ifrs 3 ‘business combinations’ effective for 
business combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after 
the beginning of the first annual reporting period beginning on or after 
1 july 2009
b basis of consolidation
the financial statements consolidate the financial statements of 
asos plc all its subsidiaries its joint venture and the employee 
benefit trust made up to 31 march 2009 all intragroup 
transactions balances income and expenses are eliminated 
on consolidation 
subsidiary companies are consolidated using the acquisition 
method of accounting and where a company is accounted for as a 
subsidiary uniform accounting policies are applied and the year ends 
are coterminous
the employee benefit trust is considered to be a special purpose 
entity spe where the substance of the relationship between the 
group and the spe indicates that the spe is controlled by the group 
— in substance the activities of the trust are being conducted on 
behalf of the group according to its specific business needs in order 
to obtain benefits from its operation on this basis the assets held by 
the trust are consolidated into the group’s financial statements  wwwasoscom
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notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
1 accounting policies continued
c goodwill
goodwill arising on acquisition is initially measured at cost being the 
excess of the cost of the acquisition over the group’s share of net fair 
value of the acquired entity’s identifiable assets and liabilities at the 
date of acquisition
goodwill is not amortised but is reviewed for impairment at least 
annually any impairment is recognised immediately in the income 
statement and is not subsequently reversed
d property plant and equipment
property plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated 
depreciation and any provision for impairment in value cost includes 
the original purchase price of the asset and the costs attributable 
in bringing the asset to its working condition for its intended use 
depreciation is provided to write down the cost of property plant 
and equipment to their estimated residual values based on current 
prices at the balance sheet date over their remaining useful lives by 
equal annual instalments assets in the course of construction are not 
depreciated residual values and useful lives are assessed at each 
balance sheet date
the depreciation rates applicable are summarised as follows
plant and machinery 33 on cost 
fixtures and fittings 20 on costover the lease term
computer and telecoms equipment 33 on cost
website maintenance costs are written off as they are incurred
e investments
investments in subsidiary companies are stated at cost subject to 
review for impairment
f sharebased payments
the group operates a number of equitysettled sharebased 
compensation plans employees of the group receive part of their 
remuneration in the form of sharebased payment transactions 
whereby employees render services in exchange for shares or 
rights over shares equitysettled transactions or in exchange for 
entitlements to cash payments based on the value of the shares cash
settled transactions 
the fair value of the employee services received in exchange for the 
grant of the options is recognised as an expense the total amount to 
be expensed over the vesting period is determined by reference to the 
fair value of the options granted excluding the impact of any non
market vesting conditions for example profitability and sales growth 
targets nonmarket vesting conditions are included in assumptions 
about the number of options that are expected to vest at each 
balance sheet date the entity revises its estimates of the number 
of options that are expected to vest it recognises the impact of the 
revision to original estimates if any in the income statement with a 
corresponding adjustment to equity
the fair value of employee share option plan is calculated at the grant 
date using the black–scholes model in accordance with ifrs 2 
‘share based payment’ the resulting cost is charged to the group 
income statement over the vesting period the value of the charge is 
adjusted to reflect expected and actual levels of vesting 
in accordance with ifric 11 asoscom is required to recognise 
sharebased payment arrangements involving equity instruments 
for asos plc where asoscom have remunerated those providing 
services to the entity in this way in asoscom the entity has 
recognised in equity a contribution from its parent equal to the amount 
at which the services provided are measured 51
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1 accounting policies continued
the proceeds received net of any directly attributable transaction 
costs are credited to share capital nominal value and share premium 
when the options are exercised
g  inventories
inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value 
on a first in first out fifo basis cost of purchase comprises the 
purchase price including import duties and other taxes transport and 
handling costs and any other directly attributable costs less trade 
discounts 
a provision is made for any slowmoving or obsolete stock 
h trade receivables
trade receivables are noninterest bearing and are recognised initially 
at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using 
the effective interest rate method less provision for impairment a 
provision for impairment of trade receivables is established when 
there is objective evidence that the group will not be able to collect 
all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables 
significant financial difficulties of the debtor probability that the 
debtor will enter bankruptcy or financial reorganisation and default or 
delinquency in payments more than 30 days overdue are considered 
indicators that the trade receivable is impaired 
i cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and in hand and 
shortterm deposits with an original maturity of three months or less
for the purposes of the company and consolidated cash flow 
statement cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and 
shortterm deposits
j taxation 
the tax expense included in the group income statement consists of 
current and deferred tax
current tax is the expected tax payable on the taxable income for the 
year using tax rates enacted or substantially enacted by the balance 
sheet date tax is recognised in the group income statement except 
to the extent that it relates to items recognised directly in equity in 
which case it is recognised in the statements of changes in equity
deferred tax is provided using the balance sheet liability method 
providing for all timing differences between the carrying amounts of 
assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts 
used for taxation purposes
deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that have been enacted 
or substantially enacted by the balance sheet date deferred tax is 
charged or credited to the group income statement except when it 
relates to items charged or credited directly to equity in which case 
the deferred tax is also recognised in equity
deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable 
that taxable profits will be available against which deductible 
temporary differences can be utilised
the carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each 
balance sheet date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer 
probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or 
part of the asset to be recovered
deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset against each other when 
there is a legally enforceable right to set off current taxation assets 
against current taxation liabilities and it is the intention to settle these 
on a net basis wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
52
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
1 accounting policies continued
k pension costs 
for certain employees the group contributes to their personal 
pension plans the costs of these contributions are charged to the 
income statement in the year in which they become payable
l leased assets
rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all the 
benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged to 
the income statement over the period of the lease
m revenue
revenue consists primarily of internet and advertising sales as well as 
postage and packaging receipts 
internet sales are recorded net of returns relevant vouchers and 
value added tax and recognised when the significant risks and 
rewards of ownership have been transferred to the buyer 
advertising revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration 
received or receivable net of value added tax revenue from 
advertising is recognised when the service is completed and the 
magazine is delivered to customers 
the amount of revenue arising from sale of goods and provision of 
services has been disclosed in note 2 of the financial statements
n trade payables
trade payables are noninterest bearing and are recognised initially 
at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the 
effective interest method
o significant estimates and judgements
the preparation of the consolidated financial statements requires 
management to make judgements estimates and assumptions that 
affect the application of policies and reported amounts of assets 
and liabilities income and expenses the estimates and associated 
assumptions are based on historical experience and various other 
factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances 
the results of which form the basis of making judgements about 
carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent 
from other sources actual results may differ from these estimates
the estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an 
ongoing basis revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in 
the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only 
that period or in the period of the revision and future periods if the 
revision affects both current and future periods
critical estimates and assumptions are made in particular with regard 
to the calculation of fair value of employee share options using the 
black–scholes model the inputs and assumptions of the model are 
detailed in note 18
critical estimates and assumptions have also been made with regard 
to the stock provision to reflect the net realisable value of the stock 
held at the year end
the criteria for recognition of the deferred tax assets are detailed in 
note 6
p segmental reporting
a business segment is a group of assets and operations engaged 
in providing products or services that are subject to risks and 
returns that are different from those of other business segments 
a geographical segment is engaged in providing products or services 
within a particular economic environment that are subject to risks and 
returns that are different from those of segments operating in other 
economic environments 53
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1 accounting policies continued
q foreign currency translation
a functional and presentation currency
items included in the financial statements of each of the group’s 
entities are measured using the currency of the primary economic 
environment in which the entity operates “the functional currency” 
the consolidated financial statements are presented in sterling which 
is the group’s functional and presentation currency
b transactions and balances
foreign currency transactions are translated into the functional 
currency using the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the 
transactions foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the 
settlement of such transactions and from the translation at yearend 
exchange rates of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in 
foreign currencies are recognised in the income statement
translation differences on nonmonetary financial assets and liabilities 
are reported as part of the fair value gain or loss 
r impairment of nonfinancial assets
assets that have an indefinite useful life for example goodwill are 
not subject to amortisation and are tested at least annually for 
impairment assets that are subject to amortisation are reviewed for 
impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate 
that the carrying amount may not be recoverable an impairment loss 
is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount 
exceeds its recoverable amount the recoverable amount is the 
higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use 
for the purposes of assessing impairment assets are grouped at 
the lowest levels for which there are separately identifiable cash flows 
cashgenerating units nonfinancial assets other than goodwill 
that suffered impairment are reviewed for possible reversal of the 
impairment at each reporting date
s financial assets and liabilities
the group classifies its financial assets in the following category 
loans and receivables the classification depends on the purpose for 
which the financial assets were acquired management determines 
the classification of its financial assets at initial recognition
loans and receivables
loans and receivables are nonderivative financial assets with fixed 
or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market 
they are included in current assets except for maturities greater than 
12 months after the balance sheet date these are classified as non
current assets the group’s loans and receivables comprise “trade 
and other receivables” and cash and cash equivalents in the balance 
sheet 
financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according 
to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into an 
equity instrument is any contract that gives a residue interest in the 
assets of the group after deducting all of its liabilities 
t dividend income
dividend income is recognised when the right to receive payment 
is established
u share capital
ordinary shares are classified as equity
v share premium 
the share premium account is used to record amounts received in 
excess of the nominal value of shares on issue of new shares
w finance income and dividends
finance income is recognised in the period to which it relates on an 
accruals basis dividends are recognised when a legal entitlement to 
payment arises wwwasoscom
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54
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
1 accounting policies continued
x provisions
provisions for onerous leases are recognised when the group 
believes that the unavoidable costs of meeting the lease obligations 
exceed the economic benefits expected to be received under the 
lease where material these obligations are discounted to their 
present value
other provisions are recognised when the group has a present legal 
or constructive obligation as a result of past events it is probable that 
an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation and 
the amount can be reliably estimated provisions are not recognised 
for future operating losses
where there are a number of similar obligations the likelihood that an 
outflow will be required in settlement is determined by considering the 
class of obligations as a whole
y joint venture
an entity is treated as a joint venture where the group holds a long
term interest and shares control under a contractual agreement
in the group accounts the joint venture is accounted for using the 
equity method of accounting the consolidated profit and loss 
account includes the group’s share of the operating results interest 
pretax results and attributable taxation of such undertakings in the 
balance sheet the interest in joint ventures is shown as the group’s 
share of net assets
z treasury shares
the group purchases shares on the market as part of the 
performance share plan for directors note 18 the investment held 
at yearend is reflected as a reduction of equity within the group’s 
financial statements the right to the shares is deemed to be an 
employee benefit and therefore is charged to the income statement 
over the vesting period 55
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2 segmental analysis
the revenue and profit of the group for the year was derived from the same classes of businesses as noted in the directors’ report the revenue was 
derived from the following sources
primary segment by class of business
  marketing services
 internet retailing discontinued total
 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009 2008
 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
revenue 165395 81044 — — 165395 81044
cost of sales 93696 43760 — — 93696 43760
gross profit 71699 37284 — — 71699 37284
operating costs 57764 30322 — — 57764 30322
operating profit 13935 6962 — — 13935  6962
share of post tax losses of joint venture 78 — — — 78 —
net finance income 268 349 — — 268 349
profit before tax 14125 7311 — — 14125 7311
taxation 4116 2258 — — 4116 2258
profit for the year 10009 5053 — — 10009 5053
      
assets 61427 35937 11 430 61438 36367
liabilities 35724 20418 5 5 35729 20423
      
capital expenditure 8200 4740 — — 8200 4740
depreciation 1850 963 — — 1850 963
 
the above figures are net of intercompany balances and transactions
segment results assets and liabilities include items directly attributable to a segment as well as those that can be allocated on a reasonable basis wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
56
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
2 segmental analysis continued
the table below analyses the different streams of revenue for the group
   200809 200708 
   £’000 £’000 increase
retail sales    149343 71685 108
delivery receipts    15084 8117 86
third party revenues advertising income   968 1242 –22
total revenue   165395 81044 104
secondary segment by geographical analysis
total assets and capital expenditure cannot be apportioned meaningfully across the geographical areas an analysis of group revenue based on 
customer location is as follows
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
internet retailing
uk    133165 73044
eu    23182 5255
north america    3223 659
rest of the world    5825 2086
    165395 81044 57
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3 operating profit 
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
operating profit is stated after chargingcrediting  
depreciation of property plant and equipment — owned    1850 963
cost of inventory recognised as an expense    76369 37050
increase in provision for stock obsolescence    520 395
foreign exchange gains    61 —
loss on the sale of property plant and equipment    — 17
operating leases — land and buildings    2634 1304
operating leases — other    71 106
impairment of property plant and machinery    362 254
in addition the following has been charged in respect of auditors’ remuneration  
auditors’ remuneration  
audit and audit related services  
statutory audit of parent company and group financial statements    15 15
statutory audit of the company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation    41 42
    56 57
other services including nonaudit services  
fees payable to company’s auditor for other services relating to taxation    138 18
all other services    28 —
total fees for other services including nonaudit services    166 18
costs relating to the audit and nonaudit services pertaining to the parent company are borne by asoscom limited  wwwasoscom
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58
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
4 staff costs including directors’ remuneration
the average monthly number of employees including executive directors employed by the group and company was as follows
    2009 2008
    number number
by activity  
management    4 3
sales and administration    366 173
    370 176
the employee costs including directors for the group and the company during the year was as follows
 group company
  2009 2008 2009 2008
  £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
wages and salaries   15784 7199 — —
social security costs  1434 884 — —
other pension costs  233 — — —
share based payments  898 792 — —
  18349 8875 — —
employee costs pertaining to parent company are borne by asoscom limited 
aggregate compensation to key management personnel being the directors of asos plc was as follows
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
aggregate emoluments    1117 855
aggregate gains made on exercise of share options    1029 —
pension payments    62 —
sharebased payments    466 452
total    2674 1307
during the year two directors exercised their share options 2008 nil 59
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4 staff costs including directors’ remuneration continued
three 2008 three directors were entitled to shares under the asos performance share plan psp
in relation to the highest paid director
    2009  2008
    £’000 £’000
aggregate emoluments    437 353
aggregate gains made on exercise of share options    1001 —
total    1438 353
the highest paid director exercised 339599 share options during the year 2008 nil an award of 61635 shares was also made under the asos 
performance share plan psp
5 finance income 
    2009  2008
    £’000 £’000
interest on bank deposits    268 349
6 income tax expense
a analysis of tax charge
    2009  2008
    £’000 £’000
current tax
uk corporation tax on profits of the year    4109 2355
over provision made in prior year    18 —
    4091 2355
deferred tax
deferred tax on capital allowances      166 124
deferred tax on share options    141 221
total deferred tax note 12    25 97
tax on profit on ordinary activities    4116 2258 wwwasoscom
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60
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
6 income tax expense continued
b factors affecting the tax charge for the year  
the tax assessed for the year is higher 2008 higher than the standard rate of corporation tax in the uk 28 2008 30 the differences are 
explained below
    2009  2008
    £’000 £’000
profit before tax    14125 7311
profit on ordinary activities multiplied by the   
standard rate of corporation tax in the uk of 28 2008 30    3955 2193
effects of  
expenses not deductible for taxation purposes    179 65
over provision made in prior year    18 —
    4116 2258
  
with effect from 1 april 2008 the statutory rate of corporation tax in the uk changed to 28 from 30 current taxation for the year ended 
31 march 2009 has therefore been calculated at a rate of 28 
c tax on recognised gains and losses not included in the consolidated income statement
    2009  2008
    £’000 £’000
current tax credit on exercise of share options    434 199
deferred tax credit on movement in share option valuations    711 2289
    1145 2488
d deferred tax assets recognised
a deferred tax asset of £3562000 2008 £2876000 has been recognised as the directors believe this amount is likely to be recovered in the 
foreseeable future this asset arises from deferred tax on sharebased payments less accelerated capital allowances this asset will be recovered as 
share options are exercised 
the company has losses of £246000 2008 £246000 which are available for offset against future taxable profits these have not been recognised 
at the year end 61
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7 earnings per share
basic earnings per share amounts are calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity holders of the parent company by the weighted average 
number of ordinary shares in issue during the year
diluted earnings per share amounts are calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity holders of the parent company by the weighted average 
number of ordinary shares in issue during the year adjusted for the effects of potentially dilutive share options
the dilution effect is calculated on the full exercise of all ordinary share options granted by the group including performancebased options which the 
group considers to have been earned
the calculations of earnings per share are based on the following
 2009 2008
  potentially   potentially
  dilutive share   dilutive share
 basic options diluted basic options diluted
profit attributable to shareholders 
continuing operations £’000 10009 — 10009 5053 — 5053
weighted average number of shares 73635398 4508766 78144164 72865070 4275246 77140316
earnings per share 136p — 128p 69p — 66p
there have been no transactions involving ordinary shares between the reporting date and the date of the approval of these financial statements 
which would significantly change the earnings per share calculations shown above wwwasoscom
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62
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
8 goodwill
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
group  
carrying value at 1 april     1060 1060
impairment    — —
carrying value at 31 march     1060 1060
 
goodwill relates to the acquisition of asoscom limited a 100 subsidiary of asos plc
goodwill arising on business combinations is not amortised but is reviewed for impairment on an annual basis or more frequently if there are any 
indications that the goodwill may be impaired goodwill acquired in a business combination is allocated to groups of cashgenerating units according 
to the level at which management monitor that goodwill
 recoverable amounts for cashgenerating units are based on the higher of value in use and fair value less costs to sell value in use is calculated from 
cash flow projections for five years using data from the group’s latest results and internal forecasts the results of which are reviewed by the board 
the key assumptions for the value in use calculation include growth rates expected changes in margins and future changes in the market
in march 2009 and 2008 impairment reviews were performed by comparing the carrying value of goodwill with the recoverable amount of the cash
generating units to which goodwill has been allocated management determined that there has been no impairment in the current year  63
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9 property plant and equipment
    assets
 plant and  fixtures and comuter under
 machinery fittings equipment construction total
group £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
cost
at 1 april 2007 25 670 2146 7 2848
additions 8 3788 923 21 4740
disposals — 51 117 — 168
at 1 april 2008 33 4407 2952 28 7420
additions 20 3400 1372 3408 8200
at 31 march 2009 53 7807 4324 3436 15620
accumulated depreciation   
at 1 april 2007 11 232 519 — 762
charge for the year 1 349 612 1 963
impairment — 254 — — 254
disposals — 32 117  — 149
at 1 april 2008 12 803 1014 1 1830
charge for the year 2 741 1049 58 1850
impairment — 362 — — 362
at 31 march 2009 14 1906 2063 59 4042
net book value
at 31 march 2009 39 5901 2261 3377 11578
at 31 march 2008 21 3604 1938 27 5590
the impairment comprises computer systems that have been upgraded  wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
64
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
10  interest in joint venture
     interest in joint
     venture
     £’000
at 1 april 2008     —
initial investment in joint venture     —
longterm loan to joint venture      240
share of posttax losses in joint venture     78
at 31 march 2009     162
     2009
share of profitloss in joint venture     £’000
turnover     92
cost of sales     54
gross profit     38
administrative expenses     115
operating loss     77
interest payable     1
loss before tax     78
income tax expense     —
loss after tax     78 65
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10  interest in joint venture continued
     2009
share of assetsliabilities in joint venture     £’000
balance sheet — joint venture     
noncurrent assets     58
current assets     81
total assets     139
liabilities due less than one year     96
liabilities due more than one year     121
total liabilities     217
net assets     78
capital and reserves     
share capital     —
share premium     —
profit and loss reserve     78
net assets     78
11 investments
    capital
    investment   contribution   total 
company   £’000 £’000 £’000
cost
at 1 april 2007    2766 554 3320
additions     —  477 477
at 1 april 2008    2766 1031 3797
additions     —  262 262
at 31 march 2009   2766 1293 4059
provision for impairment
at 31 march 2008 and at 31 march 2009     1766
net book value
31 march 2009     2293
31 march 2008     2031 wwwasoscom
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66
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
11 investments continued
the following are the company’s subsidiaries and interest in joint ventures
    proportion
   country of of ordinary nature of
name of company   incorporation shares held business
asoscom limited   uk 100 internet retailer
entertainment marketing uk limited   uk 100 dormant
brindle limited   uk 100 dormant
crooked tongues limited   uk 50 internet retailer
12 deferred tax assets
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
deferred tax asset    3562 2876
the following are the major deferred tax assetsliabilities recognised by the group and movements thereon during the current and prior year
   accelerated tax sharebased
   depreciation payments total
at 31 march 2007   81 571  490 
chargecredit to the group income statement   124  221  97 
credit to equity   —  2289 2289 
at 31 march 2008   205  3081  2876 
credit to the group income statement   166  141  25 
credit to equity   —  711  711 
at 31 march 2009   371 3933  3562 
13 inventories
    2009 2008
group      £’000  £’000
goods for resale    28085 11694 67
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14 trade and other receivables
 2009 2008
  group company group company
   £’000   £’000 £’000 £’000
trade receivables  922 — 1843 —
less provision for impairment of trade receivables  145 — 66 —
trade receivables — net of provision  777 — 1777 —
prepayments  482 12 286 2
receivables from related parties note 20  59 472 — 500
other receivables  2086 — 2715 —
  3404 484 4778 502
    
the fair values of trade and other receivables are as follows
 2009 2008
  group company group company
   £’000   £’000 £’000 £’000
trade receivables  777 — 1777 —
receivables from joint venture  59 — — —
receivables from related parties  — 472 — 500
other receivables  2086 — 2715 —
  2922 472 4492 500
the above trade and other receivables fall into the “loans and receivables” category of the group’s financial assets
group
as of 31 march 2009 group trade receivables of £18000 2008 £59000 were impaired the amount of the provision was £145000 2008 
£66000 as at 31 march 2009 which includes an additional provision in relation to supplier debit balances the individually impaired receivables are 
mainly related to wholesalers considered to be experiencing financial difficulties the ageing of these impaired receivables is as follows
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
3 to 6 months    127 7
over 6 months    18 59
    145 66 wwwasoscom
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68
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
14 trade and other receivables continued
 as of 31 march 2009 group trade receivables of £44000 were past due but not impaired these relate to a number of independent customers for 
whom there is no recent history of default the ageing analysis of these trade receivables is as follows
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
3 to 6 months    44  118
over 6 months    —  4
    44 122
company
as of 31 march 2009 company receivables from related parties of £472000 2008 £500000 were fully recoverable company receivables from 
related parties that are less than three months past due are not considered impaired as of 31 march 2009 receivables of £472000 2008 £500000 
were past due but not impaired these relate to subsidiary undertakings and joint venture for which there is no history of default the ageing analysis 
of these receivables is as follows
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
3 to 6 months    — —
over 6 months    472 500
    472 500
the carrying amounts of the group and company’s receivables are denominated in the following currencies
 2009 2008
  group company group company
   £’000   £’000 £’000 £’000
pounds sterling  777 472 1777 283
 movements on the group provision for impairment of trade receivables are as follows
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
as at 1 april     66 5
impairment of trade receivables during the year    79 61
as at 31 march     145 66 69
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14 trade and other receivables continued
 the creation and release of provision for impaired receivables have been included in “administration expenses” in the income statement amounts 
charged to the allowance account are generally written off where there is no expectation of recovery
 the other classes within trade and other receivables do not contain impaired assets
 the maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date is the fair value of each class of receivable mentioned above the group does not hold any 
collateral as security
management believe that the unimpaired receivables are fully recoverable
15 trade and other payables
 2009 2008
  group company group company
   £’000   £’000 £’000 £’000
trade payables  18820 — 8201 —
amounts owed to related parties note 20  — 381 — 381
accruals  9907 — 6379 —
other payables  5408 — 4068 —
  34135 381 18648 381
all trade payables are due in less than one year wwwasoscom
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70
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
16 provisions for other liabilities and charges
     property
     provisions
group     £’000
at 1 april 2008     680
charged to the income statement     —
additional provisions     —
utilised during the year     228
released in the year     452
at 31 march 2009     —
property provisions comprised future rent and rates payable on onerous and vacant property leases the release of this provision relates to use of the 
vacant property which has been recommissioned for use during the year
17 called up share capital
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
authorised  
100000000 2008 100000000 ordinary shares of 35p each    3500 3500
allotted issued and fully paid  
73991962 2008 73262013 ordinary shares of 35p each    2590 2564
during the year 729949 2008 586000 ordinary shares of 35p each were issued as a result of exercise of employee share options total 
consideration received in respect of these options was £278000 2008 £248000 71
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18 sharebased payments
equitysettled sharebased payments
the following table illustrates the number and weighted average exercise prices of and movements in share options during the year the settlement 
method for these is equity
 2009 2008
  share weighted share weighted
  options average options average
  number exercise number exercise
   ’000 p ’000 p
outstanding at the beginning of the year   5983 587 5840 474
granted during the year   200 1473 738 1381
forfeited during the year   64 954 9 1170
exercised during the year   730 350 586 423
outstanding at the end of the year  5389 590 5983 587
exercisable at the end of the year  4344 461 3928 325
options were exercised on ten 2008 twelve occasions throughout the year and the weighted average share price upon exercise was 248 pence 
2008 186 pence
options outstanding at 31 march 2009 are exercisable at prices ranging between 45 pence and 290 pence 2008 45 pence and 23250 pence and 
have an average remaining contract life of 53 years 2008 64 years and a weighted average fair value of 33 pence 2008 315 pence
the fair value of share options granted is calculated at the date of grant using a black–scholes option pricing model the inputs into the model are 
the riskfree interest rate at the date of grant which during the year ranged from 425 to 528 2008 425 to 528 expected volatility of 35 
2008 35 the share price at the date of grant the option life and an expected exercise date of 50 of the life of the option
expected volatility was found using a historical volatility calculator and with reference to that of comparable companies
share options granted prior to 7 november 2002 fall outside the scope of ifrs 2 and therefore no charge has been recognised within the 
income statement wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
72
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
18 sharedbased payments continued
share options 
details of options granted under both the company’s emi approved share option scheme and an unapproved share option scheme are 
shown below
   period in which
 numbers of shares outstanding option exercisable
issue date 01042008 issued  exercised lapsed 31032009 price from to
06122000 1579657 — — — 1579657 127p 16012001 15012011
31012003 59000 100000 102800 — 56200 45p 31012005 31012013
26022004 359599 — 229599 — 130000 1025p 26022006 25022014
30072004 250000 — 110000 — 140000 565p 30072006 29072014
10082004 175000 — 35000 — 140000 435p 10082006 09082014
29042005 500000 — 100000 — 400000 495p 29042007 28042015
09052005 — — — — — 43p 09052007 08052015
07072005 160000 — — — 160000 53p 07072007 06072015
08072005 45000 — 45000 — — 495p 08072007 07072015
11072005 750000 — — — 750000 575p 11072007 10072015
04012006 50000 — — — 50000 68p 04012008 03012016
04042006 100000 — — — 100000 945p 04042008 04042016
26042006 500000 — 107550 — 392450 9325p 26042008 25042016
04072006 446000 — — — 446000 98p 04072008 03072016
26072006 280000 — — 40000 240000 8275p 26072009 25072016
30042007 493051 — — 23504 469547 117p 23042010 22042017
03092007 100000 — — — 100000 1165p 03092010 02092017
31012008 135000 — — — 135000 2325p 31032011 30012018
07042008 — 100000 — — 100000 290p 07042011 07042018
total 5982307 200000 729949 63504 5388854
 
during the year the board reinstated options over 100000 ordinary shares of 45 pence to a former director to whom these were granted in 2003  73
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
18 sharedbased payments continued
asos performance share plan
under the rules of the asos performance share plan psp and subject to performance conditions the psp allows the directors to be awarded 
ordinary shares in the capital of the company
vesting of awards
awards will normally vest on or following the third anniversary of grant once the committee has determined the extent to which the applicable 
performance conditions see below have been satisfied and provided that the participant is still employed in the company’s group
the performance conditions will be structured such that the vesting of an award will be determined by the company’s annual compound growth in 
normalised earnings per share “eps” in excess of inflation “rpi” over a three year performance period commencing on the first day of the financial 
year in which the award is granted 
for the initial awards the annual growth targets will be as set out in the table below
annual compound eps growth of the vesting percentage of the shares subject
company over the performance period to an award
less than rpi  10 0
equal to rpi  10 25
greater than or equal to rpi  30 100
between rpi  10 and rpi  30 between 25 and 100 pro rata on a straightline basis
the remuneration committee may amend the performance conditions applying to existing awards at any given time if an event occurs which causes 
the committee to consider it appropriate to amend them provided that in the opinion of the committee the amended conditions are not materially 
less challenging to achieve in the changed circumstances than those originally set
the remuneration committee will review the performance conditions each time awards are granted and may impose different performance conditions 
for subsequent awards provided that in the opinion of the committee the different performance conditions are not materially less challenging in light 
of the company’s circumstances than those set for the initial awards wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
74
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
18 sharedbased payments continued
saye
 2009 2008
  share weighted share weighted
  options average options average
  number exercise number exercise
   ’000 p ’000 p
brought forward   — — — —
granted during the year   322 244 — —
forfeited during the year   — — — —
exercised during the year   — — — —
outstanding at the end of the year  322 244 — —
the saye scheme commenced on 1 july 2008 options were granted on two occasions the first issue was on 19 july 2008 at 2832p and the 
second issue was made on 7 january 2009 at 2074p
the scheme will run for three years and eligible employees can contribute between £50 and £250 a month on maturity the employee has the option 
to buy the shares in the company at a discount of 20 on the share price as at the commencement of the scheme
the accounting for the saye scheme is in accordance with ifrs2 sharebased payments the fair value of the employees services received in 
exchange for the grant of the option is recognised as an expense in the income statement the total amount to be expensed over the vesting period 
is determined by reference to the fair value of the options granted the vesting period is three years the length of the scheme
the fair value of share options granted is calculated at a discount of 20 on the market value at the date of grant using a black–scholes option 
pricing model the inputs into the model are the riskfree interest rate at the date of grant which during the year ranged from 281 to 49 
expected volatility of 35
performance share plan “psp”
the table below illustrates the shares issued to directors and other key employees of the group during the year
directors’ performance share plan
director   31 march 2008 granted number 31 march 2009 vesting date
lord waheed alli   — — — —
peter williams   — — — —
nick robertson   292992 61635 354627 2009–2011
jon kamaluddin   233781 41823 275604 2009–2011
rob bready   291619 48427 340046 2009–2011 75
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
18 sharedbased payments continued
     share share
     options  options
    number number
    2009 2008
other key employees    ’000 ’000
brought forward     — —
awarded during the year     183 —
forfeited during the year     — —
exercised during the year     — —
outstanding at the end of the year    183 —
the vesting date for the above shares awarded to other key employees of the group is 2011
 the total cost for the psp to the group for the year ended 31 march 2009 was £569000 of which £466000 relates to the directors and £103000 
relates to other key employees of the business
employee benefit trust “ebt”
the asoscom limited employee benefit trust ebt was set up to satisfy awards granted under the asos performance share plan 2006 and the 
saye scheme 2008 the trustees of the plan are ogier employee benefit trustee limited and are resident in jersey
as at 31 march 2009 the ebt held 1450052 shares 2008 818392 to the value of £2872318 2008 £943000 the consideration paid for 
ordinary shares of 35p each held by the ebt as at 31 march 2009 has been shown as an ebt reserve and presented within equity for the group as 
treasury shares these shares were purchased at market value
the total ifrs 2 charge in the income statement for all three schemes for the year ended 31 march 2009 was £898000 2008 £792000 wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
76
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
19 operating lease commitments
total of future lease payments under noncancellable operating leases are as follows
 2009 2008
  land and   land and 
  buildings other buildings other
group  £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
leases which expire    
within one year  2741 1 1019 —
within two to five years  10278 — 7900 —
in over five years  3045 — 5665 —
total  16064 1 14584 —
 
20 related party transactions
transactions with key management personnel
only members of the board of directors of asos plc are deemed to be key management personnel it is the board who have responsibility for 
planning directing and controlling the activities of the group key management personnel compensation is disclosed in note 4 and in the directors’ 
remuneration report
during the year there were no other material transactions or balances between the group and its key management personnel or members of their 
close family
during the year the company entered into transactions in the ordinary course of business with other related parties as follows
    2009 2008
    £’000 £’000
transactions during the year with subsidiary undertakings
costs recharged by subsidiary undertakings    267 116
balance at 31 march with subsidiary undertakings and joint venture
amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings    472 500
amounts owed by joint venture    59 —
amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings    381 381
loans made to employee benefit trust    2872 943 77
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
20 related party transactions continued
during the year the group made a loan of £1573490 2008 £707000 to the asoscom employee benefit trust to acquire shares in the company 
to satisfy grants made under the rules of the psp plan 
1579657 share options were granted to lord w alli in december 2000 lord alli has agreed to indemnify asos plc against 50 of the employer’s 
insurance liability that will arise on exercise of the above options
21 notes to the cash flow statement
   at 1 april  at 31 march
   2008 cash flow 2009
   £’000 £’000 £’000
group 
cash and cash equivalents    10369 3218 13587
company   
cash and cash equivalents   74 29 103
22 financial instruments
the group’s principal financial instruments comprise cash trade receivables and trade payables that arise directly from operations the main 
purpose of these financial instruments is the funding of the group’s trading activities it has been the group’s policy throughout the year under 
review that no trading in financial instruments should be undertaken
interest rate risk profile of financial assets
the only financial asset of the group is cash at bank and in hand which is denominated in sterling the us dollar and euro bank accounts 
have been retranslated to sterling at the closing spot rate on the 31 march 2009 the balance at 31 march 2009 was £13586727 
31 march 2008 £10369000
management has adopted a low risk policy relating to the investment of surplus funds which are held on time deposit with the group’s bank 
exposure to credit risk is monitored on an ongoing basis wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
78
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 march 2009
23 financial risks
financial risk factors
the group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks market risk including foreign exchange risk and cash flow and fair value interest rate risk 
credit risk and liquidity risk the group’s overall risk management programme focuses on the unpredictability of the financial markets and seeks to 
minimise potential adverse effects on the group’s financial performance the group does not currently use derivative financial instruments to hedge 
all risk exposures the group has future plans to use derivative financial instruments to hedge against foreign exchange volatility
a market risk 
i foreign exchange
the group operates internationally and is therefore exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from various currency exposures primarily with respect 
to the euro and us dollar foreign exchange risk arises from commercial transactions and recognised assets and liabilities
ii cash flow and fair value interest rate risk
as the group has no significant interestbearing assets the group’s income and operating cash flows are substantially independent of changes in 
market interest rates
as the group has no significant interestbearing borrowings the group is not exposed to cash flow interest rate risk
b credit risk
the group’s credit risk arises through credit exposure to customers and group companies and also with banks with which cash is held
management have a credit control process as the majority of the group’s advertising customers are large companies with which the group has a 
longstanding relationship the risk of default is considered to be low and writeoffs due to bad debts are extremely low
management consider the risk of default of group debtors to be negligible
the group ensures that deposits are only placed with banks which have a minimum credit rating of aa standard and poor’s rating
c liquidity risk
management are responsible for managing the group’s liquidity sufficient funds need to be available to meet business needs as and when they arise 
once all business needs have been met any surplus cash will be invested in daily deposit accounts with the group’s bank
d capital risk management
the group’s objectives when managing capital defined as net debt plus equity are to safeguard the group’s ability to continue as a going concern 
in order to provide returns for their shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders while maintaining strong credit rating and headroom while 
optimising return to shareholders through an appropriate balance of debt and equity funding the group manages its capital structure and makes 
adjustments to it in light of changes to economic conditions and the strategic objectives of the company 79
wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
five year group financial summary
 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
 £ £ £ £ £
income statement
revenue 165395 81044 42614 20317  14428
cost of sales 93696 43760 24488 11668 7949
gross profit 71699 37284 18126 8649 6479
operating costs 57764 30322 15262 9744 5411
goodwill impairment — — 188 — 228
insurance proceeds 
1
 — — 570 2439 —
operating profitloss 13935 6962 3246 1344  840
share of posttax losses of joint venture 78 — — — —
finance income 268 349 124 61 39
profit before taxation 14125 7311 3370 1405  879
taxation 4116 2258 951 12  —
profitloss for the financial year 10009 5053 2419 1417  879
earnings per share
basic 136p 69p 34p 20p 13p
fully diluted 128p 66p 33p 19p 12p
balance sheet
cash at bank 13587 10369 5379 3744  2060
net assets 25709 15944 8385 5522  3612
1 
2007 and 2006 — business interruption insurance claim following buncefield explosion wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
80
shareholder notes wwwasoscom
the online fashion store
created by
wwwjonesandpalmercouk
directors
lord w alli chairman
n robertson
j kamaluddin
r bready
p williams
n beighton appointed 27 april 2009
company secretary
j kamaluddin
resigned 27 april 2009
n beighton
appointed 27 april 2009
registered office
second floor
greater london house
hampstead road
london
nw1 7fb
registered in england number
4006623
independent auditors
pricewaterhousecoopers llp
chartered accountants and
registered auditors
10 bricket road
st albans
hertfordshire
al1 3jx
lawyers
lawrence graham llp
4 more london riverside
london se1 2au
financial advisor
nominated advisor
and joint broker
jpmorgan cazenove limited
20 moorgate
london ec2r 6da
joint broker
numis securities limited
5th floor
10 paternoster square
london ec4m 7lt
financial pr
cubitt consulting limited
30 coleman street
london ec2r 5al
registrars
capita registrars
northern house
woodsome park
fenay bridge
huddersfield hd8 0ga
company information asos plc
greater london house
hampstead road
london
nw1 7fb
wwwasoscom
asos plc
greater london house
hampstead road
london
nw1 7fb


Summary:
 asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
business review
i am pleased to report another exceptional year for asos 
despite the challenging economic conditions sales grew 
by 104 to £1654m and profit before tax increased by 
93 to £141m 
we continued our programme of investment throughout 
the year delivering a number of product initiatives whilst 
building our team and infrastructure to support these 
superior levels of growth the continued popularity of 
internet shopping provided a strong backdrop and with 
the weakness in sterling our international sales took a 
significant stepup 
this year has started positively with sales for the 13 weeks 
to 26 june 52 ahead of the same period last year this 
compares to an increase of 95 for the same period last 
year clearly we are facing much tougher comparables 
and there is now some evidence to suggest that the rate of 
growth in online sales has begun to moderate in may 2009 
the interactive media in retail group imrg reported an 8 
year on year growth in clothing sales the lowest year on 
year increase since the index was launched nine years ago 
that said according to a report by verdict the percentage 
of clothing bought online is expected to double in the next 
3 to 4 years from 57 at the end of 2008 to over 11 by 
2013 at asos we remain committed to winning the online 
fashion race according to hitwise asos remains the 
second most visited apparel and accessories site on the 
internet in the uk and in may 2009 we became a top 10 
uk ecommerce site for the first time coming in 10th 
place a rise of eight places on the year we will continue 
our programme of investment albeit at more conservative 
levels in the shortterm in order to exploit the opportunities 
that exist both in the uk and internationally
chief executive s
statement
18
wwwasoscom
key performance indicators 200809 200708 increase
sales £’000 165395 81044 104
retail margin excluding third party and delivery  463 476 —
average basket value £ including value added tax 595 530 12
average units per basket 258 254 —
average selling price per unit £ including value added tax 2309 2089 11
returns  to sales by value 260 261 —
 international sales 195 100 —
number of orders ’000 3979 2235 78 the online fashion store
19
wwwasoscom
“we continued our programme of 
investment throughout the year 
delivering a number of product
initiatives whilst building our team
and infrastructure to support these
superior levels of growth”
international
our international business has grown strongly over the 
year and now represents 19 of our sales up from 10 in 
200708 sterling’s weakness particularly against the us 
dollar and the euro has assisted with this growth as has an 
increase in marketing activity in northern europe and the 
us during the year we increased the number of countries 
that we ship to from 34 to 58 our top five performing 
countries outside the uk were ireland denmark sweden 
france and the us
the board believes that international expansion represents 
the largest growth opportunity open to asos accordingly 
jon kamaluddin was appointed international director 
in april 2009 jon is responsible for developing and 
implementing our international strategy
we will continue to add to the number of countries that we 
ship to we will introduce flat rate shipping charges and we 
will increase our digital marketing activity ultimately we will 
introduce standalone country specific asos sites
during the first phase of our international expansion all 
orders will be fulfilled from our uk warehouse this will 
enable us to offer the full asos range of over 20000 lines 
without introducing significant additional stock risk this 
approach allows us to build scale in each local market 
ahead of significant infrastructure investment 
delivering incredible choice
during the year our product ranges grew by 157 
resulting in 21300 options on site at the end of march 
2009 up from 8300 at the end of march 2008 as at 
20 june 2009 there were 24700 options on the asos 
website up from 12260 a year prior we anticipate that 
we will extend this to approximately 30000 options for the 
autumnwinter season 
in september 2008 we launched asos outlet a dedicated 
shop within asos selling separately sourced last season’s 
brands at up to 70 off in february 2009 we launched 
designer brands at asos and little asos childrenswear 
our ownlabel ranges were also extended with the 
introduction of maternity and asos black a premium 
range we plan to launch an ownlabel childrenswear range 
and an ownlabel plus size range later in the year 
we welcomed a number of new brands to the site 
including gstar reiss warehouse and polo ralph lauren 
and we look forward to introducing both gap and mango 
in august 2009 this takes the total number of brands now 
represented on asos to 820 compared to 600 twelve 
months ago
delivering uncompromising presentation
the website received a complete overhaul in march 2009 
and we introduced a number of new navigation features to 
enable quick and easy browsing of the extended product 
ranges we also introduced a 360 degree view of all shoes 
and accessories and we introduced catwalk for menswear 
and for asos outlet  wwwasoscom
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
20
asos plc annual report and accounts 2009 stock exchange code asc
chief executive’s statement continued
little asos
in february 2009 we launched 
little asos childrenswear 
we also plan to launch an 
ownlabel childrenswear range
case study
our 20 biggest brands are now represented by a “shop in 
shop” providing a rich brand experience for our customers 
and a unique distribution platform for our brand partners 
delivering impeccable service
following considerable investment in new warehouse and 
carrier management systems we will shortly be introducing 
a number of new service propositions our next day delivery 
service will be extended allowing customers to place orders 
up to 600 pm this includes a saturday delivery for orders 
placed on a friday we will also be introducing a super saver 
option and premium “same day” service within london 
today approximately 85 of our orders are trackable
community and social media
in 2008 we joined the conversation with customers through 
various social media starting official asos pages on 
facebook myspace and bebo on twitter our approach 
was slightly different in addition to officially providing real 
time news  offers customer care and service updates 
there are 55 members of the asos team across various 
departments actively talking to customers this more 
immediate and personal approach is resonating with our 
customers and we now have the largest twitter following of 
all uk retailers we have also introduced asos life which 
allows customers to talk to each other and key people 
within asos 
investing in infrastructure
over the past year we have invested in systems to support 
our back office operations of buying merchandising and 
fulfilment recently installing a new warehouse management 
system at our hemel hempstead warehouse this system 
will support our increasing range size international 
expansion as well as our demands for advanced delivery 
and returns options 
during the next twelve months we plan to continue 
our investment in systems focusing on merchandise 
management and stock planning and will further develop 
our website systems in preparation for our international 
expansion  awards
2009    
growth company awards — 
aim company of the year
2008   
esquire awards —
best credit crunch survivor
the online fashion store
21
wwwasoscom
subject to further investment in storage and handling 
equipment our site in hemel hempstead is capable of 
supporting annual sales of approximately £350m 
third party revenues
we have strengthened the team responsible for deriving 
revenue from advertising banners inserts list sales and 
display advertising in our magazine consequently after 
what was a somewhat disappointing year in this area we 
expect third party revenues to grow in the coming year 
summary and outlook
we are firmly established as the uk’s premier online fashion 
business and i remain positive about the outlook for asos 
first quarter sales are growing at 52 an exceptional 
performance given the current economic climate it is clear 
that the structural shift to online continues and i believe that 
asos is ideally placed to exploit it moreover international 
expansion is a key opportunity for asos and i expect our 
international business to grow substantially in the years 
to come
with threequarters of the financial year to go including the 
key christmas period it is too early to assess whether our 
current performance will continue for the full year that said 
i believe asos can look forward to another year of strong 
progress and development 
nick robertson
chief executive officer
“our international 
business has grown 
strongly over the year 
and now represents
19 of our sales”