ASOS back in business after ‘arson’ attack

Online clothing retailer ASOS was back up and running early on Monday after being forced to suspend sales following a suspected arson attack at its distribution centre in Barnsley. The blaze on Friday night affected four floors of its warehouse in Park Spring Road, Grimethorpe, and led to 500 workers being evacuated. The company suspended trading on its website soon afterward, saying it hoped to return to normal operations soon.

The fire involved four floors of the warehouse and the blaze was contained in the area of origin by firefighters.

Simon Rodgers, fire officer for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

The warehouse is thought to handle over 10 million packages at any one time and is more than 60,000 square metres in size. Before the fire, the fashion giant’s share price dropped 40 per cent after the retailer issued a profits warning. Previously, ever since it floated on the stock exchange in 2001, it had been a darling for investors having seen its value rise sharply. ASOS—which was originally called As Seen On Screen—has worldwide sales of $1.2 billion.

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