Argos has opened two brand new fulfilment centres in Birmingham and Reading aimed at increasing its Fast Track delivery capabilities.
The two new centres means six million additional households will now have access same-day or next-day delivery or collection on a range of around 35,000 Argos products.
Each new warehouse is 100,000 sq ft, with 100 new permanent part and full-time jobs created plus another 400 new jobs over peak Christmas season.
The fulfilment centres process orders for same day or next day delivery to customers’ homes and to stores for customer collection.
They also complement Argos’s seven distribution centres and hub store network.
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Argos said they invested in the new fulfilment centres because its Fast Track service has experienced a 31 per cent surge in delivery sales, while collection sales have sky rocketed by 51 per cent.
In addition, the retailer needed to meet additional demand from the 200 collection points it has opened inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets across the UK.
“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,” Argos chief executive John Rogers said.
“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.”
Rogers estimated that the two new sites will process more than a million items in time for Christmas.
“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,” he said.
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