Argos has opened two new regional fulfilment centres in Reading and Birmingham, allowing six million additional households to access same-day and next-day delivery.
Argos, which already has a 54,000 sq ft DC in Lancashire, will create an additional 200,000 sq ft of space and 100 permanent part and full-time jobs, as well as 400 Christmas roles. Argos fulfilment centres deliver around 30,000 items per week, which increases to 60,000 in the run up to Christmas.
The retailer said the additional warehouses will help it ramp up its same-day and next-day delivery capabilities with the Fast Track service applying to a further 35,000 products. Sales using its Fast Track delivery service have increased 31%, while Fast Track collection has increased 57%.
“Our new Reading and Birmingham sites increase our Fast Track capacity across the UK significantly, which means we can get more products to more customers more quickly. Six million more households now have access to an increased range of 35,000 products, delivered to a location of their choice within 24 hours. This is great timing for customers with Black Friday and Christmas just around the corner. We expect the two new sites to process more than a million items in time for Christmas,” said John Rogers, Argos CEO.
“We know that we see double-digit sales growth and increased footfall when sales from a Sainsbury’s in-store collection point are fulfilled through a regional fulfilment centre, so we are confident that this will have a significant, positive commercial impact as well as delighting our customers.”
