Boohoo closes US warehouse

By Liza Helps Property Editor Logistics Matters

THE FAST fashion retailer announced the closure of its1.1 million ft2  state of the art facility in Pennsylvania earlier this month stating that it wished to increase the the product range offered to US customers as the US facility only ‘offered only around 60% of the styles on sale in the UK’.

A spokesperson said: “Under the changes, boohoo is to cease supplying US customers from its US distribution centre in Pennsylvania and will now fulfil all US orders from its state-of-the-art automated UK distribution centre in Sheffield. This move follows a recent trial of increasing the product range offered to US consumers by also fulfilling from the UK, which has led to encouraging results.”

The US facility at First Logistics Center @ 283 in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania was only opened in August last year and was pre-let from First Industrial Realty Trust. DHL won the contract to operate the facility. It said that it expected to hire 1,000 associates in its first year at the First Logistics @ 283 warehouse, with nearly 2,500 associates expected over the next three years.

While details of the long-term lease are confidential a recent deal at the same scheme saw a 10 year lease negotiated at roughly $11.45 per ft2 complete.

Boohoo’s facility featured 12m clear heights, energy-efficient lighting, and abundant car and trailer parking. It achieved a Silver LEED certification. JLL advised First Industrial. It is looking to sub let the space.

When it announced the US operation Boohoo said it was a complete gamechanger noting that until then that orders placed in the United States, were picked and packed in the UK then sent by plane to the United States, with delivery taking eight to 10 days.

Following the announcement to close the US facility a Boohoo spokesperson said: “The move will result in a write-down on the Group's balance sheet against the investments and costs associated with the US operation as well as certain one-off exceptional cash costs. Importantly, these changes will result in a significant reduction in ongoing costs over the medium term.”

The retailer has been under enormous pressure with rising costs post-Covid in recent years. In January this year Logistics Matters reported that the company was closing its 1.2 million ft2 facility iat prologis RFI Daventry scheme following he closure of a warehouse in Leicester a few week prior.

In 2023 Boohoo closed its 287,634 ft2 former House of Fraser warehouse in Wellingborough which serviced its Nasty Gal, Oasis, Warehoue and Karen Millen brands.

It seems that Boohoo now has only its distribution centres in Burnley and Sheffield operating. Its Burnley headquarters site and facilities spread to over 3 million ft2 while it leases 600,000 ft2 of warehouse space in Sheffield from Exeter Property Group.