Asos to build new £90m distribution centre in England

Business secretary Alok Sharma called this a 'business success story’

(PA)

British online fashion retailer ASOS said on Friday it would invest 90 million pounds ($122 million) in a new fulfilment centre in Staffordshire, central England.

It said the new centre would employ 2,000 over the next three years.

The business secretary Alok Sharma called this a “business success story”, saying: “This job-creating investment in Lichfield is exactly the type of long-term commitment we need from businesses as we build back better from the pandemic."

The popular online clothing store has seen a spike in sales during the pandemic, with the firm reporting pre-tax profits of £142.1 million for the year to August 31, up 329% from £33.1 million a year earlier, as sales jumped 19% including 18% growth in the UK.

Asos chief executive officer Nick Beighton said: "This significant investment in infrastructure and large-scale job creation is a reflection of the confidence Asos has in its future and the quality of the skills and talent available in this well-placed location."

In October, when the sales figures were announced, Nick Beighton said: “Life for our 20-something customers is unlikely to return to normal for quite some time.”

But he said in the face of the pandemic, Asos had “met this challenge head on”.

However, the brand faced criticism at the start of the pandemic, amid widespread fears amongst the workforce of catching Covid-19 and not being given the resources needed to social distance.  

At the time, Tim Roache, the GMB general secretary, said: “Conditions at Asos are scarcely believable – workers we’ve spoken to describe it as a ‘cradle of disease’.