Clipper wins deals with River Island and Mountain Warehouse

Clipper already handles returns for River Island at the Group's Ollerton distribution centre, but this contract represents a significant extension of services, with Clipper set to provide a full range of logistics operations, including warehousing, distribution to high street stores, and e-fulfilment and returns management services. The new services are planned to commence in mid 2021.

Clipper plans to use technology expertise to initiate a transformational programme to drive the customer's operations forward, developing an integrated omni channel solution, and driving greater efficiency through the use of automation and robotics. Clipper will also be implementing a WMS solution from Blue Yonder.

River Island CEO Will Kernan said: “Clipper will deliver a programme of change that will support our omni-channel strategy and growth ambitions. Our brilliant distribution centre workforce will remain in place and, with Clipper at the helm, we are confident that our logistics operations will become even more future proof, more efficient and more flexible.”

Mountain Warehouse

Clipper has signed a new ten year open book contract with Mountain Warehouse to provide a full range of multi-channel logistics services for the Mountain Warehouse business.

The new contract is expected to commence in spring 2021 with the contract employing approximately 220 colleagues. Investment in automation and robotics will increase capacity to facilitate further growth for the customer, and the new contract will operate from Clipper's existing Peterborough distribution centre.

This will be a fast-moving multi-channel logistics operation operating seven days per week. Clipper will provide full end-to-end services to support Mountain Warehouse's multi-channel operations, including order fulfilment and returns management.

Together, these two new contracts will increase revenue by over £40 million on a full-year basis. Clipper expects to outperform current market expectations in the year to 30 April 2022.

Euro fashion

Clipper has entered into an agreement with Farfetch to provide pan-European e-fulfilment and returns management services from a new facility in Venray, Netherlands.

Farfetch is the leading global platform for the luxury fashion industry, which sells products from over 1,300 luxury boutiques and brands from around the world on its marketplace. Clipper will be providing e-fulfilment and returns management services from a new site in the Netherlands and will support all of Farfetch’s European activities from that facility.

The new contract will see operations commence in April 2021 and is for an initial term of five years. Clipper anticipates that it will employ 600 personnel at the site, and the facility will have a stockholding capacity of over 2 million units of high-end apparel.

This represents a significant extension of Clipper’s trading activities in mainland Europe. The Group already has eight distribution centres in Germany and Poland, employing over 1,500 colleagues. The new contract will represent organic growth of nearly 30% in Clipper’s European operations when fully functional, as well as our first site in the Benelux region.

For more information, visit www.clippergroup.co.uk