Koovs moves higher as bullish sales update precedes placing

Cash-strapped online fashion retailer Koovs, dubbed the Indian Asos, has issued a bullish trading statement as it looks to drum up support for its latest fundraising.

AIM-listed Koovs, which is chaired by former Asos director Lord Waheed Alli, said it had tripled user numbers to more than 1m and enjoyed a 189% increase in orders made through its website to 981m Indian rupees (roughly £10m).

This amount represents orders placed through the website, including taxes, and does not represent the revenue of the group.

Chief executive Mary Turner, the former Asos non-executive and ex CEO of Tiscali UK appointed in October, said the volume growth was ahead of management targets for the year.

Website visits were up 110%, with weekly traffic consistently exceeding 1m visits per week, and a 55% increase in buying conversion rates.

The company announced that its plans remained "on track" to raise £4.5m of new cash at a price of 25p per share, which is all intended to invest in growth and, following a £1.1m placing in October, is part of a plan to raise up to £35m for the next three years.

In September cash levels stood at just INR 56 though when including both short- and long-term deposits, the business had access to INR 568.6m (£5.6m). In the first half of the year expenditure was INR 563.5 .

Turner also announced a new exclusive design collaboration with hot London designer Hattie Stewart.

"Her fresh and playful style correlates exactly with our target market and we think our customers will love her."

Alli added: "The market in India offers a great opportunity for private label and curated western fashion. Continued focus on the company's core strategy and business plan is delivering significant growth not only in sales but also web traffic and conversion rates, so we are delighted."

Shares in Koovs, having fallen below as 13p in January, were up 31% to 22.4p just after 1600 BST on Tuesday.