Joules has chosen an unnamed 3PL to operate its UK logistics operations after a Christmas that saw stock availability issues hit e-commerce conversions.
The mystery 3PL will also be responsible for helping to transfer the company’s US distribution centre to a new partner.
As a result the retailer said it would incur incremental non-recurring costs during the transition phase but it expected to see significant cost benefits from the end of financial year 2021 onwards.
Joules saw sales drop 4.5% over the seven week period up to the 5 January, compared to FY19.
The drop in sales was due to a “disappointing online sales performance due to an internally generated stock availability issue” during its end-of-season sale. It said that traffic to its website grew by 8% but conversion was significantly down due to the stock availability issue.
Chief executive Nick Jones said: “We are disappointed with our inability to fully satisfy our customers’ demand through our online channel during the important Christmas sale period. We have identified the root cause of this one-off issue and have taken steps to prevent its reoccurrence.
“Demand for the Joules brand and its unique products remains strong, with continued growth in total customer numbers and website traffic as well as robust results in our stores and partner retail channels.
“We remain focussed on continuing to expand the Joules brand and are making significant enhancements to our supply chain operations in the UK and US to deliver both future capacity growth and efficiency.”
