Asos to Close Major US Warehouse, Announces £200 Million Impairment Charge

Asos has revealed plans to shut down its major US warehouse near Atlanta, Georgia, in a move aimed at cutting costs and boosting profitability. The decision comes with a one-off impairment charge of £200 million, as the online fashion retailer shifts its American operations to its automated UK distribution centre in Barnsley and a smaller, more flexible facility in the US.

The closure of the Union City site is expected to contribute between £10 million and £20 million to Asos’s pre-tax earnings from 2026 onward. However, it will result in a £190 million impairment for the current financial year. Despite this, Asos’s shares rose by 6.5% on the day of the announcement, though they have fallen by more than 85% over the past five years.

Although Asos’s US arm has remained profitable, the company admitted that American demand and stock levels no longer justified maintaining a large-scale warehouse. The move comes as competition has intensified from fast-fashion competitors such as Shein, Temu, and Boohoo, the latter of which also closed its US site. According to Asos, the shift to serving US customers from the UK and a smaller American facility will allow the company to offer a wider product variety while reducing fulfilment costs. However, customers may experience slower delivery times.

Asos confirmed that only seven direct employees would be affected by the closure, with logistics partners working to redeploy hundreds of staff to nearby locations. The decision follows a series of restructuring measures put in place by chief executive José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, aimed at improving profitability and reshaping the retailer’s business model. His strategy includes reducing stock levels, cutting back on discounts, and adopting a more flexible “test-and-react” approach to inventory management.

The Union City warehouse, which opened in 2018 under former CEO Nick Beighton, was initially considered a key part of Asos’s expansion into the North American market. However, analysts at Panmure Liberum have suggested that the closure represents a shift in the company’s long-term ambitions in the US. On the other hand, analysts at Deutsche Bank continue to view significant international growth potential for Asos, particularly in the US and Europe, where the company maintains a local infrastructure.