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His confidence comes despite Asos’ mounting losses, as it unveiled a £379m full year loss this morning.
Calamonte said he remained “confident” in the model, which brings a “unique proposition to the market” thanks to its styling and photography, curated trend-led offer, and a wide range of third-party brands such as Arket, On, and Nobody’s Child, alongside its own range.
The Asos boss also denied that the marketplace, which has been focused on the twentysomething consumer, would branch out to an older demographic in response to Shein’s rapid rise among Gen Z shoppers.
He noted that the customers buying Asos’ test-and-react products – items that are ordered on a 2 to 3 week lead time – tend to be younger than the company’s average customer, stating, “it’s not the case that we’re going over” to an older demographic.
Asos is ramping up its test-and-react model, which now accounts for 10% of own-brand sales and will be doubled to 20% in the next fiscal year.
Despite widening losses, Calamonte pointed to Asos’ recent performance as evidence of that its turnaround is working. Sales of “newness” were up 24% year-on-year in the last three months despite only 6% higher stock, demonstrating “strong demand for full-price products”.
While Calamonte admitted the “fragmented market remains volatile”, he expressed confidence in Asos’ ability to adapt and deliver the products customers want. “We see that when we do our job, it works.”
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