Asos Back to Business After Massive Barnsley Warehouse Fire

Asos has begun taking orders again after a fire at its main distribution centre, and has stated that it is fully insured for loss of stock and business interruption in a bid to quell investors' fears.

The online fashion retailer confirmed in a statement that the fire, which broke out at 2150 BST on 20 June, did not result in any casualties and that it is back to business as usual as of 23 June.

"Barnsley is the centre of our distribution capability and in order not to disappoint our customers we subsequently suspended taking orders. At 31st May 2014 the business held £159m of stock at cost, of which around 70% is held at Barnsley," Asos said in a statement.

"None of the technology, automation or structure of the building has been affected by the fire. Our initial estimate is that approximately 20% of the total stock at the site has been compromised by fire damage and the sprinkler systems.

Asos said the clean-up process which started on Saturday morning had progressed and that at 2am this morning it had resumed taking orders. It also stated that the business was fully insured for loss of stock and any interruption in trading.

"We have been advised by the South Yorkshire Police that after initial investigations, they are treating the incident as deliberate and have commenced a criminal enquiry. We are cooperating fully with this investigation," it said.

Asos is a major online fashion retailer which sells more than 75,000 branded and own-brand products.

Asos has already suffered major equity market volatility over the last month after shares plunged nearly 38% in early trading after the online retailer issued a profit warning for the year.

Asos stock price sank to 2,830.00p as hefty investment, from previously announced expansion plans, is tipped to hit the group's overall profit margin for this year.

"Whilst our profit performance for this financial year is not what we had hoped for due to an unusual combination of factors, our accelerated investment in technology and infrastructure to support our £2.5bn sales ambition is progressing and capital expenditure remains within guided levels," said chief executive Nick Robertson.