Six of Cotton On Group’s global distribution centres across the globe are planned to be upgraded in a bid to support the company’s growing retail footprint. These plans will see it’s distribution capabilities double by 2024.
It’s Australian Distribution Centre in Victoria opened this month with a capacity for 350 team members as the space expands to 45,000 sqm from its original 35,000.
The four-year-old centre is located 20km from the Group’s hometown of Geelong, and includes automotive fulfilling equipment, an in-house embroidery centre, a gym and basketball court and a 400KW solar system that 50-70% of power for the hub.
Cotton On Group is also preparing to open a 17,000 sqm warehouse in New Zealand with a minimum 5-Star Green Rating in 2024. It will double from the original centre, opened 15 years ago, and will rehouse the current distribution and support centre teams.
The new centre will include an in-house embroidery centre and solar panels, and is located 15 minutes from Auckland’s CBD and airport and connected to key transport links.
The second-largest distribution centre for the Group will open in mid-2023 in the Arlington, Texas in the USA, expanding to around 37,000 square metres. The new warehouse doubles its North American warehousing.
The site is expected to employ a modern warehouse design and will be climate controlled.
Elsewhere, the company has opened a 22,000 sqm warehouse in South Africa, which is capable of processing over 20 million units per year sustainably. The centre combines greywater harvesting, a 200 kWp solar power plant, LED lighting and proximity sensors to reduce energy usage. It also features a gym, meal delivery services, coffee machines, wi-fi, and plants to increase productivity and replenish focus.
The Group’s ten-year-old Distribution Centre in Singapore will be moving to a 25,455 sqm warehouse in the same area, ready for operation by mid-2023.
And in October 2022, Cotton On Group doubled its distribution footprint in the United Kingdom.
Cotton On Group has set sustainable targets for its Distribution Centres, including using 100% renewable energy by 2023, using 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packing by 2025, and becoming carbon-neutral by 2030.
The Group also plans to use automatic cutting machines to ensure every package is cut to size and eliminating the use of excess packaging.