Moss Bros starts selling through Asos and Amazon US

The formal menswear retailer is also poised to launch on La Redoute in France in the coming weeks as it takes tentative steps into other markets.

Moss Bros already operates two pilot stores in the Middle East – one of which is a department store concession – and has transactional websites in a clutch of countries outside its core UK market.

The retailer’s chief executive Brian Brick admitted the new partnerships were “small”, but said they could represent “bigger opportunities” in the future.

Speaking to Retail Week after unveiling a 15.7% rise in pre-tax profit to £4.2m in the six months to July 29, Brick said: “We’re on Amazon US, which is just a test of that market, and as part of that digital expansion we also have a range this autumn on Asos, which is our London range.

“And we are very shortly about to go live on La Redoute in France – they operate a platform with a number of retailers selling products on it.

“They are all small, but they are first steps in what might be a bigger opportunity for us.”

On the Asos link-up, Brick added: “It gives our products an opportunity to get to an audience that we may not, particularly the international one because we don’t have the same reach as they do internationally.

“We feel it’s good for the brand because it’s all our fashion product, our Moss London product.”

Moss Bros said retail like-for-likes had advanced 3.5% in the eight weeks since the year end following a “positive” response to autumn/winter ranges.

Brick warned that “market conditions remain tough”, but is confident Moss Bros can weather the current storm.

“I think we are set to cope well. We have a very strong balance sheet and trade is tough, but you have a very strong balance sheet with cash on it, it puts you in a very strong position.

“There is a lot of talk in the press about consumer spend and I think that creates a certain amount of nervousness. And there is still nervousness around Brexit because no one really knows what that means.

“While there is uncertainty, that makes the consumer more nervous. But as far as we are concerned, we’ve got varying initiatives and things we are doing in the business that we are working on.

“If it does get tougher, hopefully it will be less tough for us than other people.”