Danish retailer Søstrene Grene has officially opened its new distribution centre in Venlo. Covering more than 45,000 m², the centre is designed to support the company's future growth. Its strategic location also contributes to reducing CO₂-emissions. The development was realised by Prologis, with a strong focus on sustainability.
Thursday 23 April saw the official opening of Danish retail chain Søstrene Grene's distribution centre in Venlo. The distribution centre enables future growth for the retailer. Søstrene Grene currently operates more than 400 shops in Europe and has the ambition to expand this number to 500 shops in the coming years. The first deliveries to shops and online customers have now started.
According to Group CEO and co-owner Mikkel Grene, the opening of the facility in Venlo marks an important milestone within the retail chain's expansion plans and in its ambition to reduce CO₂ emissions. "Over the past decade, we have doubled our number of shops and will soon enter new markets. Our new distribution centre plays a key role in supporting further growth and reducing our operational climate impact. In doing so, it marks an important milestone in our growth journey."
Reduction of CO₂ emissions
The facility in Venlo is Søstrene Grene's second distribution centre and has an area of over 45,000 square metres. In Denmark, the existing centre has an area of 28,000 square metres. The new location was strategically chosen to operate closer to the growing number of customers and shops in Europe.
"We have had a strong presence in the Dutch market since we opened our first shop in 2012 and now have 20 shops in the country. We launched our Dutch webshop in 2020 and the Netherlands remains a very important market for us. With this central location, we shorten the distance to shops and online customers, which contributes to CO₂ reduction while providing a more flexible logistics network. Together with our location in Aarhus, this provides strong European coverage and a solid basis for further growth," Mikkel Grene said.
The distribution centre is located at Prologis Park Venlo DC9 and has excellent accessibility. Products are supplied directly from suppliers via the port of Rotterdam, after which containers are transported to Venlo by barge or goods train. This enables larger volumes to be transported simultaneously.
Ambitious automation
Besides shortening the distance to shops and customers, the distribution centre also contributes to CO₂ reduction. It is built entirely electric and is expected to meet BREEAM Excellent and WELL Gold certifications. A 3.3 MW solar installation is located on the roof, generating enough energy for part of the daily operation and the local energy grid.
Søstrene Grene is also investing in automation to optimise processes and reduce waste and energy consumption. Examples include smart packaging solutions that minimise material use and empty space in boxes, and a robotic order picking system for online orders, which ensures more efficient use of storage space and greater flexibility in operations.
"We are continuously working on optimising and automating our processes and operations at Søstrene Grene. Together with our real estate partner Prologis, we have built a state-of-the-art
distribution centre realised that supports both our ambitious sustainability strategy and our goal for a highly automated and professional logistics facility," said Mikkel Grene.
