ASOS comes to Australia

ONLINE shopping giant ASOS has just launched an Australian site, giving shoppers a more local online shopping experience. Marcella Purnama and Kim Larkin checks it out.

Before now, anyone who wanted to get a slice of this fashion nirvana would have to shop on the UK site, deciphering UK sizes and the exchange rate as they went.

Speaking to Vogue Australia, ASOS international director Jon Kamaluddin said the Australian website would do the math for local shoppers, displaying everything in local sizes and Australian dollars.

“ASOS took the UK site, kept all the things our customers loved and localised all the features that we believed would make it easier for them to shop,” he said.

You will still be able to buy pieces from the best English designers featured on their famous UK website, but most exciting of all, ASOS Australia now gives Australian independent designers and vintage vendors a place to showcase their wares, including the Evil Twins, ksubi, Minkpink and myPetsQuare.

Other perks? An Australian-specific ASOS blog means shoppers will no longer be taunted by the seasons – summer fashion editorial featuring gorgeous summer dresses, straw hats and sandals in the dreaded Melbourne winter months.

Shoppers will also be eligible for promotions and discounts exclusive to Australia in the coming months, Kamaluddin said.

But there are no plans to set up an Australian warehouse to match the website though, so everything sold on the site will still be shipped from the UK, but there are no shipping or return fees.

For those not in the know, ASOS is a UK-based company that has been in the online retail business for more than 11 years.

Unlike other online stores, ASOS doesn’t just sell established brands, but is a marketplace where anyone who loves fashion, anywhere in the world, can sell fashion, to anyone who loves fashion, anywhere in the world.

Confused? Well, it basically means that you can buy stuff and at the same time, create your own boutique store and sell your stuff online. Sort of like the ebay of the fashion world.

So what does ASOS Australia sell? In one word, everything. T-shirts, shoes, accessories, belts, coats, jewellery, dresses, bags, hoodies, anything – you name it. Most of their stuff is marketed towards young adults in their 20s and 30s, but caters for every style from indie to vintage, with a heavy emphasis on emerging designers.

Not bad if you consider that most of their stuff retails from $50 to $200, you just have to have the patience to sift through all the pages until you find something you like.

Will ASOS Australia be a hit or a miss? We hit the streets to find out what you think about the online shopping giant:

• “I used to always look at the UK site when I wanted to know what was going to be in fashion next season, but I never bought anything, so I’m definitely looking forward to blowing my next allowance on the Australian site,” – Anita, 21
• “When I’m looking for cool, unique pieces I’ll check out ASOS. I love shopping emerging designers because I know I’m getting a statement piece that no one else has. It’ll be good to see what the Australian designers come up with,” – James, 19
• “What if you order something and it doesn’t fit or doesn’t look like what you wanted? I’d be way too worried about that happening to shop at ASOS. Plus I think it’s kind of pricey. You can get better designer stuff in the laneways of Melbourne,” – Sarah, 23