Online fashion specialist Asos launched dedicated transactional websites serving France and Germany last week.

The debuts followed hot on the heels of the launch of the US-specific website in September and as the etailer puts international growth high on its agenda.

International sales accounted for 37% of the group total in the first half and Asos trades in 167 countries already.

The retailer is scheduled to post interim results on Monday. KBC Peel Hunt analyst John Stevenson expects pre-tax profits of £7m, up 54% year on year. However, he downgraded Asos to sell at the beginning of this week and said the valuation “leaves no room to breathe”.

He observed: “The growth potential of Asos globally is not in doubt and clearly the stock has moved away from traditional retail valuation metrics. The question that concerns us is how best to value Asos and how linear we perceive the growth to be.”

As well as an update on international operations Stevenson hopes to hear more about the retailer’s Marketplace venture.

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