Asos logo is seen in a smartphone in front of a displayed TopShop logo in this illustration taken January 25, 2021.

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Online retailer ASOS (ASOS.L) is taking a contrarian route to keep growing. U.S. department store operator Nordstrom (JWN.N) has bought a minority interest in the 5 billion pound fashion group’s Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands . In return, ASOS will set up a click and collect service at Nordstrom’s 350 stores and sell those brands in some of them.

It looks like a relatively low-risk way for the 5 billion pound online group to expand stateside. Nordstrom offers a direct route to many American shoppers. And ASOS picked up the brands in question from the wreckage of Philip Green’s Arcadia empire for just 265 million pounds, making them a cheap guinea pig. Yet the choice of a brick and mortar retailer as a partner highlights the fierce competition in online fashion from firms like Zalando (ZALG.DE) and Boohoo (BOOH.L). ASOS trades at 29 times forward earnings, almost five times as rich a multiple as Nordstrom. Its unconventional choice of partner raises questions about its ability to continue such runaway growth. (By Dasha Afanasieva)

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Source: Reuters

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