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- Booktopia (BKG) secures a new, larger 20,000-square-metre clean skin customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in South Strathfield in Sydney
- The company says the high growth experienced during COVID-19 and an increase in inventory to meet the demands of its customers has led to the move
- The new CFC will underpin the company’s future distribution capacity and is expected to drive significant operational efficiencies, Booktopia says
- The company is currently in advanced discussions to finalise a finance package to support an investment of $14 million in new equipment across FY23 and FY24
- Shares closed 10.34 per cent higher at 32 cents
Booktopia (BKG) has secured a new customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in South Strathfield in Sydney.
The company said a period of high growth during COVID-19 has triggered the need to increase inventory to meet the demands of its customers.
It will move from its current Lidcombe facility into the larger 20,000-square-metre clean skin facility.
Booktopia said the new CFC will underpin the company’s future distribution capacity and is expected to drive significant operational efficiencies.
Key features of the new CFC include an advanced, scalable and flexible robotics platform that will significantly improve put away and picking activities and a custom-designed layout that will facilitate an efficient flow of products through the CFC and reduce manual handling.
Acting CEO Geoff Stalley said the new CFC re-shapes the online book retailer’s supply chain and unlocks a significant opportunity to increase profitability and generate cash with a purpose-built design that is efficient and scalable.
“We continue to see opportunities for growth in the Australian book market and the investment in a new customer fulfilment centre is not only critical to business performance but also to ensure Booktopia is able to meet its customer promise now and into the future,” he said.
The company will move to the new CFC over the next 18 months, with the new centre expected to be operational in time for Christmas 2023.
Booktopia is currently in advanced discussions to finalise a finance package to support an investment of $14 million in new equipment across FY23 and FY24.
It confirmed the decision will mean one-off accounting costs relating to leases and some equipment write-downs are likely to materialise in the FY22 final accounts but are not yet finalised.
Shares closed 10.34 per cent higher at 32 cents.
