Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
John Lewis has announced that it will open a new distribution centre (DC) in Milton Keynes, to support the growth of its omnichannel business.
The multiple retailer has signed a 25-year lease on the 638,000sq ft warehouse. The DC will support the retailer’s existing Magna Park 1 DC which opened in 2009, and the adjacent Magna Park 2 DC, which will be fully operational in 2016.
The new DC will be responsible for large furniture, electricals and home furnishings, while Magna Park 1 and 2will be responsible for handling smaller products such as iPads and accessories and hanging garments respectively.
John Lewis operations director Dino Rocos said: “As customers shopping habits evolve so too does our operational business model. The new DC will enable us to better respond, react and fulfil omnichannel shopping experiences be it via phone, tablet, desktop or visiting a shop.
“For the supply chain, this means improving availability. Our new Milton Keynes DC will complement our two Magna Park sites and provide us with the space to continue to build on the improvements we have made in providing better service to our shops and customers.”
John Lewis operates 43 John Lewis shops across the UK (31 department stores, 10 John Lewis ‘at home’ stores and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com.
