Media-Saturn Group, the electronics retail business of Metro, is to concentrate its multi-channel warehouse development at Erfurt in central Germany.
In July, the group took over Redcoon GmbH, a pure-play online electronics retailer in Germany that had chosen the freight service centre in Erfurt’s industrial park as the location for its new logistics centre.
The group has now decided to use Erfurt as the location for multi-channel warehouses for its Saturn and Media Markt brands.
From October, there will be maintained approximately 20,000 square metres of logistics space for Saturn’s multi-channel business. With the launch of mediamarkt.de at the beginning of 2012, an addition 20,000 square metres will be added.
Media-Saturn’s logistics partner Fiege will assume responsibility for handling all of the logistics aspects of the company’s multi-channel business in Germany, from the commissioning and packaging of goods right through to their shipping, on a total of approximately 40,000 square metres of space at the Fiege Megacenter Erfurt in Apfelstädt close to Erfurt.
The multichannel strategy comprises the integration of the store-based business of the Media Markt and Saturn brands with the respective online shops as well as the fast expansion of the pure play online business of redcoon.
Construction of the The Redcoon logistics centre is due to begin this year, and it is intended that the first phase of construction comprising approximately 36,000 square metres of logistics space be completed as early as 2012.
When complete it will handle shipments to almost all of Europe. This currently includes Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Poland and France, with further expansion planned within Europe.
Planning is already under way for a second construction phase involving an additional 26,000 square metres of storage space and could be started in 2014, provided that business continues to grow. The plan is for the amount of logistics space to be expanded in several stages to a total of 60,000 to 70,000 square metres.
