Now a household name in the fashion world, ASOS.com has joined, even surpassed, the likes of H&M, Topshop, River Island and New Look as the go-to store for what’s hot to wear.

Nick Robertson, founder and CEO of the online superstore, began his career in advertising immediately after finishing school. After a frustrating 10 years, Nick decided to follow his brother’s footsteps as an entrepreneur by starting his own marketing organisation and a small online business, then known as AsSeenOnScreen.com. The concept has since been refined and streamlined into today’s slick, dynamic and hugely popular fashion destination ASOS.com - the UK’s 2nd largest fashion retailer.

One of the foremost challenges ASOS faced during its outset was where to focus its efforts from a product perspective. However, one of his first hires proved to catalyse the transformation from celebrity odd bits to the foremost online fashion destination in the UK.

By chance, Nick’s first buyer was a former Topshop buyer, and her focus on fashion attracted the most attention and the most sales. “Once the penny dropped, we realised that fashion was so much better than anything else we were trying to sell – and we turned all our attention to that.”

Nick also notes the benefit of an online market, particularly in the current economic climate: while the average customer might be spending less on the high street, there is a marked reallocation of where consumers are spending their money.

He said: “What do you think John Lewis and Topshop online are doing? Still growing at 50 to 60%.” So while people have about the same or perhaps less money to spend, they are proportionally spending much more online. “Because I only play in that online market channel, I get 100% of the upside.”

While the best margins for ASOS remain with their ever more popular own label, Robertson is adamant that despite this, the umbrella website format is the way forward. For Nick, there isn’t going to be one ‘winner’ in the online fashion race but always a variety of brands.

Winning the hearts and minds of 20 year olds is Nick’s mission and by churning out editorials relevant to that consumer base, ASOS shows loyalty to its customers – not to one brand or another. “It’s about changing the perception of the consumer, from ‘what can we sell’ to ‘what do they want to know and hear’ and if we can sell some of that, then that’s fantastic”.

With a background in advertising, Nick has learned to position his business around the customer. “Do what’s right for the customers, not what’s right for the business,” he said. “Because if you do what’s right for customers, generally that’s right for the business”.

That customer focus is seen most clearly in Nick’s adamant commitment to free delivery on all orders. “I knew that free delivery is where the world is going to be in 3 years’ time, but I just wanted to get there right away.” Starting ASOS Marketplace, the second-hand vintage online store stocked by the users themselves, was a similarly inspired move.

It is precisely this sort of dynamic and flexible creativity and Nick’s infectious self-belief that percolates every sinew of his business, which suggests the relentless growth of ASOS.com is unlikely to subside any time soon.

However, ASOS does not believe its future opportunities lie solely within the borders of the United Kingdom.

Nick reminds us with a broad smile: “The UK represents just 3% of global Internet traffic – there’s still 97% to play for!”

ASOS has already created dedicated websites for the French, German and American markets and is looking to launch “3 to 5 more this year” as Asia becomes its next target.

The big unexplored is what keeps the ASOS executives excited, motivated and right on the pulse of the online fashion market.  “Asia represents 50% of Internet traffic. If we want to compete we have to be there.”

On leaving ASOS HQ we were more in awe of the story behind the company’s staggering current share price than the line of models waiting for their next shots to be uploaded onto the site. And all this in just over 10 years, driven by a man who didn’t even go to university.

Nick Robertson’s top tip

You have to believe in yourself. You spend your life talking to people and everyone has a different opinion and it’s quite easy to get distracted by that. You have to know where you are going. Look into the horizon and that is the destination. Be single-minded, focused and get there. All the time you are going to have people telling you it’s wrong but sometimes trust yourself.