Asos could well defy doubters

The etailer racked up retail sales growth of 50% in the first half, when pre-tax profits rocketed 59%. After blazing a trail in the UK the meteor is soaring overseas, where turnover was up 120% at the interim stage.

But Asos is a sell for some analysts, even as they upgraded profit forecasts and increased share price targets. Why? They argue that Asos’s valuation already reflects much of the future success expected, including increasing sales to £1bn over the next few years.

But online retail has often confounded sceptics, having come from nowhere to account for an ever-increasing - though still relatively small - proportion of sales.

Asos founder and chief executive Nick Robertson is bullish about prospects. He would be. But Robertson tells a convincing story about where growth will come from and how much there is still to go for.

The UK accounts for just 3% of global web traffic, Robertson points out. He’s spending his time planning how Asos can make the most of the other 97%.

He is also catering for a new type of consumer -the 20-something with an increasingly global frame

of fashion reference in which celebrity looks and blogger referrals and endorsements are key drivers of style. It’s a world in which Asos has grown up and is at home.

Robertson’s ambition now is to take Asos on “a new journey, from online store - albeit a big one - to global fashion destination”. The development of initiatives such as Fashion Finder - including presenting shoppers with brands that Asos itself may not sell in the spirit of being a hub for fashion enthusiasts and benefiting as a result - are part of that drive.

There will undoubtedly be risks and perhaps upsets along the way, but Asos looks well positioned to carry on claiming a rising share of clothing sales.