After almost a decade spent proving people wrong, Nick Robertson is ready for his next challenge. He is gearing up to take Asos, the online clothing retailer, overseas.

Asos - originally named As Seen on Screen - will begin testing IT systems this year to see how it can handle multi-territory and multi-currency transactions.

Mr Robertson, the chief executive, is keeping the finer details to himself, but the plans reflect the continual evolution of the business since it was launched in the summer of 2000.

For years Asos was known for attracting customers by offering cheap versions of the styles worn by celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Kate Moss. As Asos reported its full-year results yesterday, Mr Robertson was keen to emphasise how far the business has moved on. It sells nearly 11,000 product lines, including its own designs and clothing from 250 other brands. Asos, Mr Robertson insists, is the one-stop destination for people wanting to buy fashion on the internet.

Yesterday's results show how the strategy is paying off. Pre-tax profits doubled to £7.3 million in the year to March, with sales up 90 per cent. Sales since April are up by 95 per cent.

It is a far cry from the late 1990s, when Mr Robertson co-founded a business with Quentin Griffiths to detail which products were used in films and television. Fashion proved to be the most popular part of the website.

As the great-grandson of the founder of Austin Reed, the menswear retailer, a career in clothing was seemingly written in the stars, yet Mr Robertson started out as a media buyer after leaving school in Dorset aged 18.

He has endured his fair share of bad luck along the way. Asos floated in October 2001, a month after the September 11 terrorist attacks, and the company's warehouse was gutted by fire after the Buncefield oil depot explosion in 2005.

Events are now moving firmly in Asos's favour. While the high street struggles, Asos is cashing in from the growing number of people shopping online. Mr Robertson says: “Our sales have grown by an average of 77 per cent a year over the past five years. That's got to be coming from somewhere.”

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