M&S.com increases online capacity to serve more than 22 million customers

British retailer Marks and Spencer has permanently increased its online capacity by building a new automated online warehouse within its Bradford distribution center.

Marks and Spencer confirmed in a statement that it has begun expanding its Bradford distribution centre to become a second online warehouse for M&S.com.

The new automated warehouse will be used for boxed products from bras to belts, with the aim of eventually supporting around 20% of M&S online orders. The retailer aims for the online warehouse to be operational by Christmas 2021, when the team will be responsible for distributing 35,000 items a day, with capacity set to increase over time.

The retailer added that the move will create around 300 new jobs in the local community later this year .

Marks and Spencer’s Bradford distribution centre currently works with logistics specialist XPO to deliver clothing and food to its stores and this new investment is using existing unused space within the centre to create a new online warehouse for M&S.com, supporting the retailer’s Castle Donington online warehouse and pick-in-store model.

Over the Christmas period, colleagues in Bradford manually picked products from the existing automated distribution centre to service online orders, with the site dispatching 14,000 items a day at its peak .

"We are transforming our clothing business to make it more relevant and more accessible to our 22 million customers, " Stephen Langford, director of M&S.com, said in a statement.

“While it’s exciting to have our stores reopening, the growth of our online business has never been more important . Building an automated warehouse means we can serve our customers as efficiently as possible. Establishing Bradford is a key way we are building a more digital future for M&S, under the M&S banner.”

The pandemic has already prompted a shift to online shopping at M&S , which has seen rapid growth in online business . Marks and Spencer reported a 34% increase in online sales in the first half of the financial year . App downloads grew by more than 200% in 2020 and Sparks membership now exceeds 10 million.

M&S

U.K.

Online warehouse