Amazon set to launch premium fashion store

The US online retailer will launch the new division on “Mega Monday”, the busiest online shopping day of the year, the Sunday Telegraph said.

Amazon, which reportedly considered a bid for ASOS, is trying to find ways to replicate its success in books and technology with fashion.

The new fashion store, located at amazon.co.uk/premium, is understood to have signed up brands including 7 For All Mankind, Pringle, and Black Orchid.

Christopher North, managing director of Amazon.co.uk, told the Telegraph: “More and more customers are discovering the benefits of shopping for clothing online and we are rapidly expanding our fashion offering with a raft of aspirational brands and on-trend products.”

Amazon sold more than three million items and took 35 orders per second on Mega Monday last year. According to estimates by Visa Europe, £320m will be spent online in total. It predicts that today will be the busiest online shopping day ever in the UK. Marks & Spencer has recruited an additional 800 employees at its UK distribution centres and doubled the number of employees working in its e-commerce call centre. David Walmsley, multi-channel development director at M&S, said: “For months, we’ve been planning behind the scenes to make sure we’re fully prepared to manage the huge uplift in orders we’re expecting.

“Christmas can be a hectic time for our customers so we’ve brought in extra support in our warehouses, customer services and in stores to make sure that shopping with M&S is as easy and hassle-free as possible.”

ASOS, which targets twenty-somethings with clothes based on outfits first worn by celebrities, reported a 42 per cent leap in underlying profits to £13.2m for the five months to August 31, having recently changed its year end from March 31.

ASOS recently celebrated reaching the five million customer mark.