ASOS have dropped quite significantly in the past week for no particular reason and I view this as the perfect opportunity to invest as I can see them bouncing right back up to the 5.50p mark in the next 2-3 weeks. STRONG BUY!!

dil - u talk a lot of sense, but cant agree you on this one. If your in the mood for lurve and your woman cant (for obvious reasons) that dont put you off her for ever does it. Sure people will be say ''what a bloody big fire but im sure it wont happen again''.

they arsed up last christmas as well though did they not?

if you think having to many orders and being to popular is arsing up then i suppose so.

DEAR CUSTOMERS,

UNFORTUNATELY OUR WAREHOUSE AT HEMEL HEMPSTEAD HAS BEEN DAMAGED BY THE EXPLOSIONS THAT TOOK PLACE AT THE BUNCEFIELD FUEL DEPOT ON SUNDAY 11TH DECEMBER.

AT THE TIME OF THIS UPDATE, WE NOW HAVE ACCESS TO THE WAREHOUSE. SERVICES ON THE ASOS WEBSITE REMAIN SUSPENDED HOWEVER, UNTIL OUR ASSESSMENT IS COMPLETE.

WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF ASOS AND YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING AT THIS TIME.
updated this afternnon at 2pm

hot off the press
Dear Customer,

As you may be aware, our warehouse at Hemel Hempstead has been damaged
by the explosions that took place at the Buncefield fuel depot on Sunday
11th December.

Until we understand the scope of the damage we have been forced to suspend
the ASOS website. This means that unfortunately we are unable to dispatch your
order.

We do appreciate that at this time of year your order is likely to be a
Christmas present for someone. We hope that in some small way we can
make up for this by offering you a 15% discount on your next order at
ASOS. As soon as we have re-opened the store we will be in touch with
your discount code.

In the meantime we have refunded your order in full. The funds should
appear on your card within 5-10 working days.

Once again, we do value your custom and hope to see you again in the
near future.

Thank you for your support of ASOS and patience and understanding in this
matter.

We wish you a Happy Christmas.

ASOS Customer Care

Helpful feedback above on the seriousness of the effects of the fire. On the bright side, seems that ASOS will be somewhere back to normal early January. The downside is the loss of probably the best three weeks in the year.

So what about the effect on the sp? As suggested, will probably over-react. Certainly the annual figures will take a hit as I can't see their being compensation for the timing of the losses. If only 20% of the stock has gone, the value of the other 80% will be slashed by the inability to sell at seasonal prices. So lots to fuel the negativity. But lets look at the upside. The impact will be temporary. There seems to be little reason why this should affect next year's trading. I beleive there is a great deal of brand loyalty and its quite clear what the reason for disruption in trading is. My reasoning is that the inevitable drop will be a buying opportunity, not necessarily straight away, but certainly when the downside has been defined. Had been planning to come back in in January and that timing could be great.

Good luick all and happy Christmas.

Eric

Thanks for bringing some sanity and good sense back to the thread Eric. Happy Christmas to you too.

Sound words Eric & Kivver.

really too expensive these are...

Thanks Yoda. Care to enlighten us why?

well, currently, I admit, they are priceless

ASOS back from suspension , Trading to restart mid Jan significant payment already recieved from insurers SP down 6p SD

Better news than we expected!

Not a holder but looks like a management team to be congratulated ( a rarity on AIM these days). The way they have dealt with this has been very efficient and for the SP not to have suffered on re-entry a superb achievement

ASOS "Best Potential Growth Story" In Sector

Friday, December 23, 2005 3:34:09 AM ET
Dow Jones Newswires



0719 GMT [Dow Jones] Seymour Pierce says it still sees ASOS (ASC.LN) as the best potential growth story in the sector. Notes damage caused to the company's premises by the explosion at the Buncefield oil depot is likely to be almost completely rectified by mid-January. "Moreover, insurance should fully cover the damage and loss of profits." The board believes that no long-term damage has been done to the brand. "This is the best outcome, under the circumstances, that anyone could have expected." Reckons any share price weakness is a buying opportunity. Shares were suspended Dec 12 at 77.5p. (SMT)

Personally I think ASC were very fortunate that the LSE agreed to a suspension. I agree with Dil on this one, particularly as I was short prior to the Buncefield explosion. Having read the RNS this morning, were I long I would not be all that reassured.

* Business should be fully operational by mid January 2006

Should is not a word I ever like to use, it means nothing, they either will be or wont be. If they will, say so.

* Loss of profit and damage to assets covered by insurance

I can accept that damage to assets will be covered by insurance, but how on earth will the loss of profits over their busiest period of the year be calculated, I just can't see it myself.

* Results for the year ended 31 March 2006 likely to be in line with
market expectations

Likely? another term for should!

* Confident that no long term damage has been done to the brand

No way of knowing what long term damage has been done to the brand, only time will tell.

Essentially, this RNS says very little more than what was known two weeks ago and strikes me very much as an attempt to prop up the SP folowing what has to be regarded as outrageous ill fortune.

All just IMO of course and I accept that my vested interest will colour my judgement, but I'm not going to rush to close my short just yet!

Good luck to existing holders.

pth

MAM Stockwatch isn't telling the full story this morning due to the outage. There have been over half a million shares traded thus far today, of which only 16K would appear to be buys. It seems that the smaller investors are following the lead set prior to Xmas by the bigger players and at the very least protecting profits. Not only have ASC missed out on the busiest trading period of the year, by the time they are up and running the post Xmas sales frenzy will also have passed them by.

Patholden,
What is your target by June 2006?

Ahoj

I think I will have closed my trade by June and amd really looking at this from a 3 month perspective. Worst case (best case for me) is a fall to the 45p level tested in May of this year. I really can't see what ASC can do to regain the sales lost over the festive period. I know that they are insured, but since when have insurers ever paid out the full value of anything? I understand they will be having a sale when open for business again, but clearly this will further erode profitability.
As you can see from the chart, it seems that the uptrend has now come to an end and I expect the SP to commence testing not only support level at 70p, but also the 200EMA which is coincidental. If they fail, then we will probably see tests at 5p levels over the coming months.
Personally, I quite like the ASC business model and they have certainly sustained huge growth during the last two years. But as they recently admitted, this growth is slowing and has come to a grinding halt due to the Buncefield fire. I think it will take some time to get going again.

60p first target.