Global apparel and accessories retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is expanding its partnership with GXO Logistics, which will manage its ecommerce fulfilment and returns in the UK.
By moving services to GXO’s newly refurbished 170,000-square-foot facility outside London, Abercrombie & Fitch, which features in the RetailX UK Top500, will be able to expand its ecommerce offering, increase service flexibility and reduce inventory concentration from a sole location.
“Staying close to our customers is top priority at A&F Co. By expanding our partnership GXO will support our efforts to improve ecommerce experiences for customers globally. We are confident that the additional fulfilment capacity will improve speed and the overall omni-channel shopping experience for our UK customers,” explained Larry Grischow, EVP supply chain of A&F Co.
GXO currently employs over 60 team members at the site who provide picking, packing and sortation services using modular technology, with plans to more than quadruple that number in line with Abercrombie & Fitch’s growth plans.
In addition, GXO will leverage its reverse logistics solutions to process returns within 48 hours of receipt, maximising value through recovery by making products available for resale, while reducing waste and delivering significant cost savings. GXO will also progressively implement goods-to-person automation and adaptive technology into the operations to improve efficiency and quality.
The expansion follows the success of GXO’s partnership with A&F Co in the US, where the company operates a high-tech distribution centre featuring advanced automation and goods-to-person robotics, intelligent analytics and AI.
Gavin Williams, GXO’s managing director, UK and Ireland, commented: “After sucessfully launching a major warehouse operation in the US last year, we’re excited to bring Abercrombie & Fitch to the UK with a dedicated warehouse, underpinned by our WMS, to seamlessly manage their fulfilment and returns.
“Our facility puts stock closer to Abercrombie & Fitch’s UK consumers, improving delivery and returns processing speeds and reducing environmental impact. This is a long-term, global partnership, and we’re looking forward to supporting their growth plans in the UK.”
