What is ASOS’s stock price, and are they publicly traded? Unfortunately, investors cannot purchase shares of ASOS because it only trades on the London Stock Exchange. However, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), PinDuoDuo (NASDAQ: PDD), and Gap (NYSE: GPS) are fashion stocks that traders can invest in.
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ASOS Introduction (No Stock Symbol)
Are you an investor looking for emerging brands rapidly creating industry moats and taking market share? If you are, you might want to consider buying ASOS stock. Why?
ASOS is an online brand that has quickly taken the fashion world by storm, especially in the United Kingdom. If you are an investor in the United States, ASOS might not be familiar.
Studying companies that can capture a large section of a specific age demographic is always interesting. For a company that is only 24 years old, ASOS is remarkably advanced in its distribution and product offerings.
It’s a major reason I began to look into investing in ASOS stock, which led me to write this article. This blog is for you if you do not know what ASOS is or does not. This article will discuss the corporate history of ASOS, buying ASOS stock, and investing in some of the company’s largest fashion rivals.
What Is ASOS?
ASOS is a British fast-fashion retailer that operates as an online platform. The company was established in 2000 and is based in London, England. What does the ASOS acronym stand for?
ASOS originally stood for the phrase “As Seen On Screen”. The website started as a place to purchase replicas of costumes and clothing seen on television and in movies. One of its most popular items was the red leather jacket that Brad Pitt wore in the movie Fight Club.
The company has since expanded its website to be a full online retail experience. ASOS offers 13 home brands and products from over 900 partner retailers, including Nike, Adidas, and Converse. ASOS appeals to consumers in their twenties worldwide with shipping options to nearly 200 countries.
In 2021, ASOS made a major acquisition from the Arcadia Group. It saw ASOS acquire brands like Topshop, Topman, and Miss Selfridge to its umbrella. These are now included in ASOS’ home brands and are sold directly through the site.
ASOS has had a rocky few years. The company benefited from the pandemic as all online retailers did, but saw a significant decline in sales when the world reopened. Metrics are finally returning to pre-COVID levels now four years later. What about trading ASOS stock?
Can I Buy ASOS Stock?
Does ASOS sound like a company you want to add to your stock portfolio? You can buy ASOS stock only if you can access stocks on the London Stock Exchange.
That’s right, ASOS only trades in London and is not listed on US exchanges. The company trades on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LON: ASC.
ASOS is available as an American Depository Receipt (ADR) on the Over the Counter (OTC) Markets under the ticker OTC: ASOMY.
Is ASOS Stock a Good Investment?
The answer to this question depends on when you entered the stock and your investing horizon.
As you might see from the ASOS stock chart, the past few years haven’t been kind to shareholders. Shares are down by nearly 90% over the past five years, which includes hitting an all-time high price during the pandemic. The stock has erased all of those gains, and then some, and currently has a market capitalization of about 472 million GBP.
In 2023, ASOS made about 3.54 GPb in annual revenue, which was lower than in 2021 and 2022. Part of this is likely because of lower consumer sentiment and buying power with high inflation and interest rates in economies worldwide.
ASOS stock is presently trading at some of its lowest historical prices. Does that make it a good investment? Not necessarily. If you want to invest in ASOS, you will likely want to see some signs of its business recovery.
Recovery would include increasing yearly revenue and ARPU or average revenue per user. Ensure that ASOS stock works with your investment goals and strategies. Don’t just buy a stock based on an article you read!
ASOS Stock Competitors
There is a lot of competition in the fast-fashion industry, especially regarding online retail. If you aren’t interested in buying ASOS stock, you can add plenty of other brands to your portfolio.
For this article, I’ll stick to stocks listed on the US exchanges. Some great companies, such as Zara and Uniqlo, are listed internationally, but most US-based investors cannot access these markets. Here are some of the best ASOS competitors to buy in 2024!
1. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)
We often forget that Amazon is one of the original fast-fashion marketplaces. While it started as an online bookstore, it wasn’t long before you could order almost anything your heart desires. Today, Amazon has become a global institution. It has revolutionized online shopping and made one-day delivery the norm, no matter where you are.
Amazon is the sixth-largest company in the world by market capitalization and a component of the S&P 500, the NASDAQ 100, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Amazon also has plenty of other businesses, including Whole Foods, a grocery store chain, and the largest cloud services business in the world, Amazon Web Services (AWS). These Amazon subsidiaries give it more options than ASOS stock.
2. PinDuoDuo (NASDAQ: PDD)
PinDuoDuo is a Chinese online conglomerate that started as an online retailer of agricultural resources. The company started the online platform to connect farmers directly to consumers without going through grocery stores.
The site later expanded to include grocery stores for consumers wanting to pick up or deliver groceries. In September 2022, PinDuoDuo launched its Temu marketplace.
This site features heavily discounted consumer goods and clothing shipped directly from distributors in China. Today, Temu is available in more than 50 countries worldwide and nearly doubled PinDuoDuo’s annual revenue in 2023. ASOS stock could find this attractive.
3. Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS)
Gap Inc. is an American fast-fashion brand based in San Francisco, California. This retail company is known worldwide for its various sub-brands, including Old Navy and the Banana Republic. As of 2023, Gap operated over 3,500 stores and earned more than $15.6 billion in annual revenue.
How is the Gap a brand that caters to a younger audience? The founder’s wife named the company after the Generation Gap between older and younger fashion consumers.
Throughout the years, the Gap has appealed to younger consumers through its youthful and lively advertising. The Gap does have an online website but does much of its business through brick-and-mortar retail stores. Gap is a great alternative to ASOS stock.
4. Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN)
Urban Outfitters is an American fast-fashion brand founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1970. This company has always had an interesting mix of products that appeal to the younger generations. It offers men’s and women’s fashion and beauty products, toys, candies, and music.
Urban Outfitters owns several other youth-oriented brands, including Free People and Anthropologie.
Free People was the store’s name when it was created as an entrepreneurial project by several students at the University of Pennsylvania. As of 2023, Urban Outfitters had more than 700 retail locations across dozens of countries worldwide.
5. American Eagle (NYSE: AEO)
American Eagle is yet another American fashion brand meant for younger consumers. It was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. American Eagle’s primary target audience is high school and college students.
As of 2023, American Eagle operated nearly 1,200 retail locations across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It also owns two subsidiary brands called Aerie and Todd Snyder. American Eagle is a $4.65 billion company that earned more than $5.2 billion in sales for 2023.
The Dark Side of Fast Fashion
The fast fashion industry has received plenty of criticism in recent years. Why? The basis of the industry is clothing that mimics designer fashion looks and is cheaply made.
Passing trends influence these designs, so many clothes are donated or thrown away when the fad is over.
Certain things must be true to produce such a large amount of clothing at such low prices. First, workers who make this clothing are usually underpaid and can be underaged. Another true thing is that fast fashion production can harm the environment.
Not only are we using a ton of water and power to make these clothes, but companies often take shortcuts like using plastics in clothing.
In 2024, France became one of the first countries to ban certain fast fashion brands. The government will impose additional taxes on consumers for the brands that are not banned. This ban is set to go into effect in 2025. It could effect ASOS stock in Europe.
Final Thoughts: ASOS Stock
Investors seeking exposure to the fast fashion industry can consider ASOS stock. ASOS is listed primarily on the London Stock Exchange but is also available on the OTC Markets as an ADR.
The stock has struggled since the pandemic and is trading near all-time lows. To buy ASOS stock, you must use a brokerage that provides access to the LSE or the OTC Markets!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! ASOS is a publicly traded stock listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol (ASC.L). It is also listed on the OTC Markets as an ADR under the ticker symbol (ASOMY).
On the London Stock Exchange, ASOS stock is a component of the FTSE Small-Cap Index and the FTSE All Shares Index. As of May 2024, the FTSE Small-Cap Index has 213 components. The FTSE All Shares Index has 563 components.
Fast fashion is a trendy industry right now. It produces a large amount of cheaply-made clothing for younger consumers. While it might be lucrative, investments haven’t done that well. Companies need to stay on top of the current trends and, by nature, have lower margins because of the low cost of the products.
ASOS is available to ship purchases to nearly 200 different countries. The retailer is completely online and sells all its products directly through its website. ASOS offers more than 900 partner brands and several in-house brands as well.
