Online retailer Asos has decided to shut down its Chinese web shop after a series of disappointing results. At the same time, it will also shut down its Chinese distribution center and its Shanghai office. Customers can still turn to the Asos shop at Alibaba’s online marketplace, Tmall.
Major losses
Back in 2013, Asos launched a Chinese web shop, but failed to make it profitable. Last year alone, the shop ran at a four million pound (five million euro) loss and with the closure of both the web shop and the offices, the British company will lose ten million pounds (12.5 million euro) in total. When it launched the online shop, Asos had already invested nine million pounds (11.5 million euro), 3 million pounds more than anticipated.
With the Chinese market growth slower than previously anticipated, Asos decided to turn its attention to growth in Europe and the United States. The company was also never able to fight Alibaba’s power, as the Chinese online giant controls the majority of the online Chinese market. Asos always expected to suffer losses at first, but those were larger than expected while sales have not increased. That is why the company has now decided to call it quits, leaving 60 people unemployed.
