Boohoo to close Leicester warehouse
FAST FASHION retailer Boohoo is to close its manufacturing facility in Leicester after a series of knock backs including the mislabelling of clothes as Made In UK when they were actually made in Southeast Asia.
Liza Helps Property Editor Logistics Matters
The property has a footplate 23,000 ft2 and was hailed as a centre of manufacturing excellence when it opened in 2022. The launch of the state-of-the-art factory came after revelations of poor working conditions within its supply chain which continue to dog the retailer.
In November 2023, the company was the subject of yet another journalistic investigation with BBC Panorama undercover journalists alleging Boohoo had broken promises to make its clothes fairly, and was pressuring suppliers to drive prices down even after deals had been agreed.
Only last year the retailer closed its 287,634 ft2 distribution centre on the Park Farm Industrial Estate in Wellingborough. Boohoo only moved into the former Arcadia warehouse in 2021.
A spokesman for Boohoo said: ‘As in any retail business, the role of our sites continues to evolve over time and following significant investments at our Sheffield distribution centre, and the opening of a new distribution centre in the US, we must now take steps to continue to ensure we are a more efficient, productive and strengthened business.’
Boohoo owns the Debenhams, Pretty Little Thing, Oasis and Burton brands as well as its main label.
Logistics Matters highlighted the tough retail conditions Boohoo and other fast fashion retailers face in an article published at the end of November https://www.logisticsmatters.co.uk/Property-Fast-fashion-slowing-down
