Spanish fashion giant Inditex is investing 100 million euros in the construction of a distribution centre in Lelystad. The new logistics centre is intended to support its central DC in Spain. It is the first time Inditex has opened a DC outside its home country.
The fashion chain wants to expand in Europe and a new, central DC should facilitate this growth. The parent group of chains such as Zara and Bershka and Oysho is building the complex at Lelystad Airport Businesspark (LAB), adjacent to the airport. There, it has bought a 35-hectare plot. The distribution point is estimated to have an area of 170,000 square metres. Lelystad is said to have the ideal combination of "high-quality physical and digital infrastructure" for the company. The choice is notable because Flevoland is basically not considered a traditional logistics hotspot. Nevertheless, the amount of available land and its proximity to Schiphol Airport would have been the deciding factor for Inditex.
Availability of staff would also have been an important consideration for Inditex. At logistics hotspots in Brabant and Limburg, companies are eager for staff. "In Flevoland, that labour market is more relaxed," explained Rob Verhoeff, managing director of LAB in the FD. The new location will bring at least 400 jobs to the region, which could double depending on market developments and business capacity.
Inditex will soon start construction of the DC. It is still unclear which partners the fashion conglomerate will collaborate with for this purpose. In 2019, Inditex aims to be partially operational in Lelystad, simultaneously with the opening of the nearby airport. From 2020, the building will be fully operational. The construction will aim for LEED Gold certification, the US sustainability certificate.
'New logistics hotspots due to market pressure'
Inditex is not the first company to opt for a lesser-known location when building a distribution centre. Colliers International's logistics barometer shows that new hotspots are emerging due to increasing pressure on the logistics market, with companies increasingly preferring Hoofddorp to Schiphol and Nieuwegein to Utrecht, for example. "The increase in scale of logistics service providers is an important factor for the dynamics in the logistics real estate market," says Jim Orsel of the Logistics & Industrial team. "The demand for larger distribution centres, given the decreasing available land in traditional locations, will lead to new logistics hotspots."
Editorial LogistiekProfs
Image: Inditex's central distribution centre in Cabanillas del Campo, Spain.
