Asos has reported one of the best Christmas trading updates this year, as its sales soared 86 per cent in the seven weeks to January 20.

In the 42 weeks to January 20, sales rocketed 88 per cent year on year. The retailer reported that pre-tax profits for the year to March 31 were “likely to be significantly ahead of market expectations”.

This has prompted house broker Seymour Pierce to raise its pre-tax profit expectations from£5.7 million to£6.7 million for this financial year and from£8 million to£12 million for the year to March 2009.

As many retailers continue to feel the pinch from the credit crunch, Asos’s rapid growth has helped it buck the gloomy trend. Asos chief executive Nick Robertson said: “We are not immune to the credit crunch, but the net effect is not so bad because we are growing so quickly. We had a cracking Christmas – sales were ahead of internal forecasts, margin remained strong and our stock position was healthy.”

To facilitate this growth, Robertson wants to employ 50 additional buyers and merchandisers and expects Asos’s product offer to grow between 20 and 30 per cent this year.

The e-tailer will reveal a new lower-case logo in the next three months, which it says will be more unisex and appeal to both its female and increasingly expanding male customer base. The web site will also undergo a revamp at the end of the year.