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Lidl has announced that it has opened a new £300m warehouse in Luton, its largest warehouse in the world.
The 1.2 million sq ft RDC is located in Houghton Regis, Luton, and will be delivering over 9,400 pallets a day across 150 stores.
It will be the first Lidl GB warehouse to feature automation, helping to store more goods and increase capacity at the distribution centre.
It will also feature solar panels that are set to generate 2,000,000 kWH of electricity annually.
The warehouse is set to create up to 1,500 jobs for the local community and staff will benefit after hourly wages increased this month to £11.40 from £11.00, with the potential to rise to £12.30 with length of service.
Richard Taylor, chief development officer, said: “The opening of this new RDC in Luton is a seminal moment for Lidl GB. Demand for Lidl has never been higher, and we are seeing an increasing number of people walk through our doors to make savings on every shop.
“The fact that Lidl’s largest RDC in the world is here in Great Britain speaks for itself not only in terms of us needing to meet the growing demand from customers, but also in terms of our ambition to grow that demand in the future.”
He added: “It is a spectacular state-of-the-art site that our team has worked incredibly hard on to get to where we are today. It has the capacity to service 150 stores, which is nearly triple the amount of some of our existing warehouses, demonstrating the true scale of our ambition and growth potential.”
Jennifer Davidson, regional director, said: “In my 26 years at Lidl I’ve had the opportunity to work on some incredible projects, but none of which I am prouder of than this. To see the culmination of all the work that’s gone into it and knowing the boost that it’s going to give to the local economy including the 1,500 jobs created, is truly something. We have an exceptional team here, and I’m excited about what the future has in store for us, and Lidl in general.”
This news comes after Lidl announced it was recruiting for 400 roles as it submitted a planning application at a 38-acre site in Gildersome, Leeds.
