GMI Construction Group PLC has heralded the official opening of a giant new state-of-the-art 437,000 sq ft fulfilment centre built for leading online retailer ASOS at a site at Fradley Park in Lichfield.
The £90 million development which took 39 weeks to build features over 407,000 sq ft of warehouse space together with 30,000 sq ft of offices.
More than 700 people have already been recruited at the facility, with that number rising to 2,000 over the next three years in order to serve customers in the UK and 150 other countries across the world.
ASOS said it expects to ship over 30 million units in the site’s first year, and up to 4.5 million per week once the facility is fully operational and automation is complete.
It said it expects the facility to help it meet its goal of reaching £7 billion in annual revenue within the next three to four years.
Speaking about the opening ASOS Chief Operating Officer UK Mat Dunn said: “We are thrilled to be celebrating the opening of our brand-new warehouse in Lichfield, which will support our ambitious international growth plans and bring a significant number of jobs to the area,”
“Our choice of Lichfield reflects the skills and talent it has to offer and we’re looking forward to becoming part of the local community in the years ahead.”
Also commenting GMI managing Director Andy Bruce said: “Its enormously gratifying to see this incredible building officially come to life and become operational. It is the culmination of nearly two years of construction, fit out and enabling works.
The full project team should be very proud of what has been delivered here which once again is a clear example of GMI’s ability to deliver first class projects on time and on budget without compromise”
ASOS currently operates three other fulfilment centres, in Barnsley, Berlin and Atlanta.