Asos warehouse destroyed in nearby oil depot blast |
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Wed, 14 Dec 2005 02:05
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LONDON: Online clothing retailer Asos Plc. suspended operations Monday as its newly set up warehouse in an industrial park in Hemel Hempstead was totally destroyed in a series of blasts that occurred at the nearby Buncefield oil depot.
Several other businesses at the industrial park, including brewer Scottish & Newcastle Plc., and DSG International, the parent company of Dixons, have been severely affected by the explosions at the depot jointly owned by France's Total SA and U.S.-based Chevron Corp.
Asos, manufacturer of fashion garments and accessories, was the worst hit and its warehouse remained cordoned off. Chief Executive Nick Robertson said the impact could be very significant as the warehouse is the only storage facility for the clothing firm.
On a request from the company, trading of its shares on the London Stock Exchange was suspended. It said it wanted to make a fuller assessment of the impact of the fire. The company said it is fully insured for loss of inventory and business interruption. The disruption in its operations has come at the busiest time of the year.
The fire continued to rage Tuesday, more than 24 hours after the first blast at 6 a.m. local time yesterday. The explosions injured 39 people, two seriously.
Scottish & Newcastle said its wholesaler subsidiary Waverley TBS's main distribution center in the industrial park was badly damaged. It said there could be "significant asset losses," in the region of around 10 million pounds worth of wines and spirits, which were due to be sent out.
Among other businesses affected was software and IT company Northgate Information Solutions, which has its headquarters located in the vicinity. The company said its premises were seriously damaged, affecting its service to customers. The disruption affected a nearby hospital, Addenbrooke's Hospital, which had its information system and patient data housed at the Northgate building. These were completely destroyed in the blast and the hospital asked people to call only in urgent cases.
Total said the terminal was connected to Britain's biggest refineries and it will make efforts to fulfill contracts to deliver fuels immediately.
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