How much money fashion and retail brands make every second in the UK

Abigail Fenton
·Writer
Updated ·3 min read
A shopper uses the ASOS website. Photo: Tim Goode/PA
A shopper uses the ASOS website. Photo: Tim Goode/PA

The UK high-street has taken a hard hit over the past 12 months with chains such as Poundworld, Maplin and Toys R Us going into administration, but online retailers seem to be going from strength to strength.

A new report by Ask Traders has revealed just how much money 30 of the world's biggest fashion and retail brands make every second, minute, hour and day globally.

ASOS (ASC.L) is the fast-fashion leader, generating over £86 ($113) in revenue every second of the day, the report shows.

The online fashion retailer sold over 348 million units in 2019, meaning they made serious cash last year – £86 a second in revenue and £14.87 in profit, or 16% profit per second.

It is closely followed by NBrown (BWNG.L), which earns £29 in revenue every second, and makes just over half of that in profit.

READ MORE: Retail sales flatline in January as retailers brace for 'tough year'

The stock market value of Boohoo (BOO.L) has overtaken Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) thanks to strong Christmas sales. The company, which also owns brand Pretty Little Thing, raked in £27.17 in revenue and £14.87 in profit per second in the third quarter of 2019.

Meanwhile, Misguided made about £6.85 in revenue and £2.99 in profit.

Top five brands for retail and profit per second. Source: Ask Traders
Online retailers revenue and profit in 2019. Source: Ask Traders

On the hand retailers like Mothercare (MTC.L) lost £49.35 in revenue and £22.57 in profit every second. The company collapsed in November last year, falling into administration and shutting all its 79 stores in the UK.

Although the UK high-street has seen better days, there are some fashion brands going from strength to strength.

With over 2.9 billion units sold in 2019, Zara (ITX.MC) comes in the top spot, earning the most revenue over £714 per second and £405 profit – 56% profit per second.

READ MORE: 2019 caps fifth year of falling sales for retailers

Meanwhile, questions remain over the financial health of Debenhams, which is expected to close some 20 stores this year. The department store chain made £72 in revenue per second, only make less than 1% of that as profit.

High street retailers revenue and profit in 2019. Source: Ask Traders
High street retailers revenue and profit in 2019. Source: Ask Traders

Matalan could be another victim waiting in the stalls after its latest results showed the retailer was not immune to the tough challenges facing the high street. Profits and revenue dropped again, to just £33.71 and £4.75, respectively, in 2019.

Nigel Frith, senior market analyst at Ask Traders, said: "The future of retail is online. Amid an ever more digitalised and time-poor society and with e-tailers offering logistical efficiency, consumers are increasingly giving the shops a miss and shopping online. This trend isn’t about to change anytime soon, online shopping offers a friction-less, convenient experience which suits consumers’ busy lives.”

“The impact of this change has been more than evident on the UK high street with a big name such as Toys R Us and Mothercare shutting up shop and/or going into administration. as shown in our data above.”

READ MORE: Revealed – the least popular online retailers in the UK

Primark (ABF.L) continues to buck the UK high street doom and gloom trend, making £237.09 revenue and £26.73 profit per second.

Meanwhile, hedge funds are taking positions against Marks and Spencer, betting against its recovery, despite a revenue of £26.73 and profit of £121.45.