Asos chief executive Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte says his turnaround of the fashion pioneer is making progress, even though its sales slump has deepened.

At its first half trading update, Calamonte said that Asos’ sales had fallen 18%. That compares to the 12.2% decline it saw in the fourth quarter.

Whilst batting increased competition like low cost Chinese operators like Shein and its more premium rivals, Asos has had to contend with the cost-of-living crisis squeezing its customers wallets and the bursting of the pandemic bubble, which left it with too much stock. At the same time, discounts had slashed its profit margins.

However Calamonte was optimistic and said Asos will hit its full year targets and be a “more profitable, cash generative business” from 2025 onwards. As an example, he said that focussing on full price sales instead of discounts had increased its margins and that it had made “good progress” on shifting its excess stock.

“We have made great progress in monetising inventory that built up over the pandemic and in improving the core profitability of our operations,” he said.

Additionally, Calamonte said Asos has brought down lead times for an item going from the design stage to on sale to two to three weeks. This will boost its agility and ability to respond to changing customer tastes.