The John Lewis Partnership has announced the purchase of a new one million sq ft distribution centre in Milton Keynes.

The new warehouse is set to create 500 new jobs.

The retailer said that the move would help it meet growing customer demand for online orders.

Since the start of the pandemic, online sales have jumped from 40 to 60 per cent of the company’s total sales.

The warehouse, leased for 11 years, will be its second largest distribution centre. The department store’s biggest warehouse, located four miles away, is two million sq ft.

“This one-of-a-kind distribution centre represents a fantastic opportunity to power the continued growth of Johnlewis.com, ensuring that we can keep pace with customer demand - both for our products and for our wide range of fulfilment and delivery options,” said Andrew Murphy, partner and executive director of operations for the partnership. “We will invest in the site’s automation capability to support future growth and, over the next two years, we will recruit 500 new Partners to work at the distribution centre, which we plan to start operating during summer 2022.”

The site will be used to fulfil customer orders for fashion, small home furnishing items, and technology products.

The company said that the warehouse’s proximity to its Magna Park campus will enable it to combine more customer orders, slash the number of packages it creates by around one million per year, and reduce lorries on the road.

John Lewis added that it is investing £50 million in its website and app, and said it plans to create more virtual services and events. The company will spend a further £100 million on its online growth across a five-year period.

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