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Warehouse fire may have cost ASOS up to £30 million in sales

London-based online retailer ASOS have reported that the fire in its Barnsley distribution centre which took place in June has cost the company between £25 and £30 million in sales.

Despite the fire, the retailer has reported retails sales up by 15%, noting an increase of 33% in the UK.

ASOS has also reported an increase of international sales by 6% as it announced plans to make significant investments in its international pricing and proposition.

The retailer now has 8.8 million active customers, a 25% increase on last year.

Nick Robertson, CEO, said: “Our UK performance remained strong over the final quarter, with sales increasing 33%. Our International business grew 6% or 14% in constant currency.

However, due to the fire at our Barnsley distribution centre, we lost sales during the quarter of between £25m and £30m with a retail gross margin impact of c.200 basis points.

After adjusting for insurance proceeds, we expect profit before tax for the year to be in line with market expectations.

Engagement with our customers remains positive with a 25% growth in active customers and increases in order frequency, conversion rate and average basket value. Sales for the year as a whole increased by 27%.

In the new financial year we’ll make significant investments in our international pricing and proposition, as well as in our logistical infrastructure and technology platform. As a result, we expect profit before tax for the year to 31 August 2015 to be at a similar level to 2013/14.

We remain focussed on the long term opportunity for ASOS, with £2.5bn of sales as our next staging post“.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .