“Everyone sells the same trench coat. I just proved it with data.”
The UK online fashion industry is basically a giant closet stuffed with mid-priced jeans and “must-have” blazers that everyone already owns.
So I decided to treat it like a business analyst would - but with honesty.
This project analyzes 30,000+ ASOS product listings to identify where the market is saturated, who’s shouting the loudest, and where there’s actually space to breathe (spoiler: it’s Activewear).
Goal:
Help a hypothetical startup (FlexWear) decide where to enter the UK fashion market - and how to not die in the mid-tier pricing war.
A new fashion startup wants to enter the UK market.
They don’t want to be another ASOS clone.
As a consultant (and chaos translator), I was tasked to:
- Identify market gaps and competitive density
- Analyze price positioning across categories
- Recommend a data-driven entry strategy
Stakeholder:
The Strategy Lead - someone who says “I just need insights, not a 20-tab Excel file.”
Source: ASOS UK product listings (public dataset) [https://www.kaggle.com/code/rajatraj0502/asos-e-commerce-dataset-30-845-products/input] Rows: ~30,000 products
Key Fields:
- Product Name
- Brand
- Category
- Price (cleaned, because half said “From 42.50” like a riddle)
- Price Band (Low / Mid / Premium / High-End)
Tools Used:
- Power BI → Visualization & Analysis
- Excel / Power Query → Data Cleaning
- Removed null rows that contributed nothing (like unpaid interns)
- Cleaned price column → extracted numeric values from strings like “From 42.50”
- Created Price Bands:
- Low: < £20
- Mid: £20–£50
- Premium: £50–£100
- High-End: > £100
- Grouped products by Category Group → Activewear / Outerwear / Other
Who’s flooding the market?
→ ASOS 4505, Stradivarius, and Topshop are the loudest voices in a very crowded room.
Insight:
The mid-tier segment is heavily saturated with lookalike brands. Competing here means entering a price war armed only with discount codes.
Where’s the money actually flowing?
| Price Band | Products | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| Low (£0–20) | 6.5K | “Budget chic” – crowded and disposable |
| Mid (£20–50) | 16.6K | The noisy middle — everyone’s here |
| Premium (£50–100) | 5.3K | Sparse, stylish, and profitable |
| High-End (£100+) | 1.5K | Exclusive, but limited volume |
Insight:
55% of the market is mid-tier, meaning everyone’s fighting over the same price-conscious customers.
The sweet spot? Upper-mid range (£50–£80) - looks premium, feels affordable.
Category vs Price Band — where the chaos lives.
| Category | Low | Mid | Premium | High-End | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activewear | 78 | 74 | 8 | 0 | “Hello? Anyone here?” – Huge opportunity |
| Other | 6,383 | 15,535 | 4,201 | 1,012 | The Hunger Games of fast fashion |
| Outerwear | 84 | 1,036 | 1,091 | 469 | Respectably premium, brand-driven |
Insight:
Activewear is an under-served niche, while “Other” apparel is drowning in supply.
Translation: stop making blouses, start making breathable gym tees.
1️⃣ Mid-tier Madness:
Everyone’s obsessed with affordability; nobody’s selling value.
2️⃣ Premium Gap:
The £50–£100 range is a lonely place — perfect for brands that can blend quality and style.
3️⃣ Activewear Opportunity:
Under-supplied, growing fast, and socially trend-friendly.
4️⃣ Outerwear Prestige:
Crowded with high-end names but stable; use it as an expansion category later.
| Area | Move | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Market Entry | Start with Activewear | Underserved and growing |
| Price Positioning | £50–£80 | Avoids price war, looks premium |
| Brand Identity | Focus on “Affordable Performance” | The sweet spot between Gymshark and ASOS |
| Marketing | Partner with local influencers | Sell lifestyle, not just leggings |
| Expansion Plan | Move into Outerwear post-brand trust | Build a premium perception organically |
The UK fashion market doesn’t need another mid-tier brand selling £25 t-shirts with “Be Kind” written on them.
It needs Activewear that performs, looks good, and doesn’t apologize for not being £15.
In short:
“Don’t join the noise. Be the calm, confident brand that everyone else wishes they’d thought of first.”
- Page 1: Brand Overview (Count of Products by Brand)
- Page 2: Price Analysis (Distribution + Avg Price KPI)
- Page 3: Market Saturation Heatmap
| KPI | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Products | 29,971 |
| Activewear Share | 0.5% |
| Mid-tier Density | 55% |
| Identified Opportunity | Premium Activewear (£50–£80) |
Shyam
🎓 MSc Business Analytics, University of Exeter
💻 Ex–Software Developer (3+ years experience)
📊 Aspiring Business / Insight Analyst | UK
“I turn messy datasets into market stories - with a bit of absurd humor and a lot of tea.”
#BusinessAnalytics #PowerBI #MarketAnalysis #DataVisualization #Consulting #ASOS #InsightAnalyst #PortfolioProject