THIS INCLUDES a €17.5 million investment across digital and retail fulfilment in Ireland over the next three years, as it builds on its long-standing partnership with Kildare-based Road Truck Services (RTS). 

Simon Duddy: What made this the right moment to move fulfilment into Ireland, and how did the decision come about?

Vineta Bajaj: Ireland is one of our strongest-performing markets and an important part of Holland & Barrett’s growth story. We’ve seen strong momentum across stores and digital, with revenue up 6.2% in our latest financial year and digital sales growing 17.9%. Around 2.8 million customers shopped with us in Ireland over the past year, including 300,000 online. We’ve continued investing in our stores, people and local partnerships, and see huge potential for further growth.

Moving fulfilment into Ireland felt like a natural next step. We’ve worked with RTS for eight years, so expanding our partnership made sense. It allows us to bring more of our operations closer to Irish customers, improve delivery times and offer greater choice and availability. This investment reflects our confidence in the Irish market and our commitment to growing the business while delivering the best possible experience for our customers.

SD: What does the partnership with RTS look like? How do the two teams collaborate on planning, peak and new initiatives?

VB: Over our eight-year relationship with RTS, we’ve worked closely together across imports, customs, warehousing and distribution, so they know our business really well.

We’re now building on that relationship with a €17.5 million investment over the next three years. This includes €8.2 million in our new digital fulfilment model and €9.3 million relating to existing retail fulfilment operations with RTS. As part of the expansion, RTS is investing in people, equipment and technology, and restructuring its warehousing operations. The partnership is expected to create around 20 additional roles at RTS, alongside agency support during peak periods and another 6–10 indirect roles.

Over the past three years, we’ve invested significantly in our UK automated warehouse and supply chain operations, and we’re bringing that expertise into our partnership with RTS. They’ve recently invested in their warehouse and introduced a new Warehouse Management System (WMS), helping us share trading forecasts, plan supply and demand more effectively and improve the customer experience.

As digital fulfilment is new to RTS, we’ve worked closely with their team to ensure the distribution centre layout, operational flows and end-to-end processes reflect learnings from our wider Group digital operations. We’re also drawing on RTS’s relationships with couriers, including DHL and An Post, as well as packaging suppliers and technology providers, to manage risks during peak trading periods.

We’re also supporting RTS as they explore automation opportunities, drawing on the expertise of H&B’s automation specialists and suppliers to improve efficiency, strengthen their digital fulfilment offering and deliver a better customer experience.

SD: With the 5kg limit lifted, products from 34 Irish brands added online and next-day delivery coming from 1 December, what do you expect customers to notice most? Is there more to come, such as click-and-collect or same-day delivery?

VB: I think the biggest difference customers will notice is that online shopping with us will become easier and more convenient, with faster delivery, more choice and better product availability.

By moving fulfilment into Ireland, we’ll be able to hold more stock locally. We’re adding around €1.5 million in stock, bringing our total Irish stockholding to approximately €4.7 million and allowing us to offer a wider range of products. We’re also lifting the existing 5kg weight limit on online orders, making it easier to place larger orders, particularly in categories like Active Nutrition, where demand is strong in Ireland.

We’re also making more products from 34 Irish brands available online, and from 1 December we’re planning to introduce next-day delivery with a 7 pm order cut-off. We expect 97% of orders dispatched by RTS on the same day to reach customers the following day, significantly improving delivery speed and convenience.

Our immediate priority is getting next-day delivery right, but we’re also looking at what comes next once local fulfilment has bedded in. With 70 stores across Ireland, we’re actively exploring Click & Collect to reduce costs and give customers more options. This will require close collaboration with RTS to ensure stores have sufficient stock to meet demand, and any new services will need to deliver real benefits for customers while also making commercial sense.

SD: What do the next three years look like in Ireland? Could this local fulfilment model be a template for other markets?

VB: In Ireland, the priority is making sure the new model works well, from introducing next-day delivery in December to improving product availability and offering a wider online range. We’ll also continue investing in our stores. 90% of our estate is now modernised, and we’re still opening and relocating stores where the opportunity is right. Over the next three years, I’d expect digital to continue growing faster than stores, and local fulfilment will help us capture that growth.

Once a market reaches a certain scale, serving customers locally rather than shipping from the UK can deliver a better experience while also making commercial sense. We’ve already seen the benefits of this approach in mainland Europe. At H&B, we recognise that every market is different, so we’ll assess opportunities individually, considering volumes, customer demand and the right partners, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

SD: Looking at the whole group, what are the priorities for developing fulfilment capability over the next few years?

VB: There are three main priorities. First, availability: making sure we have the right products in the right place. Second, speed and convenience across every channel, so our stores, online platforms and apps are supported by a joined-up view of stock rather than operating separately. And third, cost to serve. As our digital business grows, we need to ensure our fulfilment operations can scale efficiently without putting pressure on margins.

Ireland is a good example of how we’re developing these capabilities. While the immediate focus is on improving digital fulfilment, there’s also an opportunity to improve how we serve our stores. Currently, an unplanned store delivery can take around seven days, but RTS’s new capabilities could significantly reduce that timeframe. We’re also exploring faster store replenishment, potentially even same-day, alongside improvements to Click & Collect, with the ambition of offering same-day or next-day collection.

SD: What role will technology and automation play? Where are you investing in warehouse automation, systems or data?

VB: We’ve invested heavily in our UK automated warehouse and supply chain operations over the last three years, and that continues. The bigger opportunity now is data: improving forecasting, sharing demand signals with partners like RTS in real time and using that information to plan stock more precisely. This helps reduce waste, improve availability and free up working capital.

We’re also exploring further automation and efficiency opportunities, including voice picking for bulk items to improve productivity, automated waste management to support sustainability and better use of space within our distribution centres. Alongside this, we’re continuing to invest in our distribution centre management systems (DCMS), demand and supply planning, space and range systems, and automated returns management.

We’ll continue to automate where there’s a clear return, focusing on customer outcomes and return on investment rather than automation for its own sake.

Tomorrow’s Warehouse to launch in Dublin

The successful Tomorrow’s Warehouse Event, established for five years in Coventry and Manchester, will launch in Dublin in 2027.

The event takes place on February 25 at Dixon Transport, just north of Dublin by the airport.

Vineta Bajaj, Group Chief Financial Officer at Holland & Barrett will make the keynote address at the inaugural event.

Tomorrow’s Warehouse Dublin will offer the usual networking and learning opportunities to warehousing and logistics professionals in Ireland, as well as an exciting tour of Dixon’s newly expanded and highly automated warehouse, which is not to be missed.

Registration will open in December. For now, save the date, we would love to see you at the event.