23 Jun 2014
Online fashion and beauty product retailer Asos is taking orders again after a blaze at its main warehouse affected £22 million worth of stock.
The fire at the building near Barnsley on Friday night “compromised” about a fifth of the goods stored there and caused the company to stop taking orders.
Around 500 members of staff were evacuated from the building and South Yorkshire Police are currently investigating what caused the blaze.
The firm said it starting cleaning up the damage on Saturday morning and was able to start trading again in the early hours of Monday.
Insurance will cover the damaged stock and gap in trading but the company’s share price dropped 3%. In a statement to the stock market Asos revealed the blaze had not adversely affected the building’s structure or the equipment in it but around 20% of its stock had been damaged by fire and sprinkler water.
Last month Asos was said to have nearly £160 million worth of stock and around 70% of it was housed at the facility near Grimethorpe in South Yorkshire. The company made £750 million last year.
Copyright Press Association 2014