Customers hoping to shop ASOS today will have to put their shopping fingers to rest as the company’s Barnsley fashion warehouse caught fire on Friday night. Customers this morning are greeted with a holding page on the ASOS website explaining the situation and asking for patience.
The surprising element of all of this is the fact that ASOS are now saying this fire is being treated as arson. After initial investigations from the fire brigade, we’re told that the fire started on the second floor and spread rapidly through to the third and fourth floors. There are over 500 people that work in the Barnsley warehouse and thankfully every single employee escaped unscathed. But who has a burning desire to see ASOS go up in flames- a disgruntled employee or perhaps a major competitor? Who knows… but we have a feeling whatever the damage, it won’t keep ASOS down long.
So on that topic, what does this mean for the general ASOS addict out there? Well, Barnsley is the global distribution centre for ASOS. There are other satellite distribution centers, but Barnsley’s truly the hub. With an estimated 10 million boxes in the warehouse, we have no news yet on how many perished. Sadly, there’s been no time scale set on when we can expect to return to our ASOS addiction, but again we reckon it won’t be delayed terribly long.
Bottom line here, folks. ASOS suffered a blow, everyone lived and they’re handling it responsibily by letting their customer know in the most appropriate way possible with a polite message on the site. Our thoughts are with both the company and employees that have been put through a rather traumatic experience.
