Marks & Spencer (M&S) has announced plans to acquire a new fully automated fashion distribution centre in Lichfield, Staffordshire to double its long-term online sales.

The retailer said it has agreed a conditional deal to acquire the 437,000 square foot logistics site from online fashion giant Asos for £67.5 million.

The warehouse will become operational within the M&S supply chain network in 2027, employing around 600 people.

M&S said the new hub would expand capacity across its 24/7 distribution network and enable it to process customer orders more quickly. The retailer expects the facility to improve product availability, support a broader online range and speed up deliveries to both stores and customers.

The company added that the site would help customers place orders later in the day while gaining access to a wider selection of sizes and styles of clothing.

M&S described supply chain transformation as a key strategic priority as it looks to reshape the business for long-term growth. The retailer said it is focusing on reducing the time products take to move from suppliers to distribution centres, and onwards to stores or customers.

John Lyttle, managing director for fashion, home and beauty at M&S, said the company wants to double its online sales and its distribution network needs more capacity to achieve this goal.

“We’ve always said that we’ll deliver our transformation with highly disciplined capital investment, always mindful of spending shareholder money wisely,” he added. “This acquisition does just that, delivering tangible business benefits that move our transformation forward, at a much lower cost compared to a new build option.”

Last month, M&S chief executive Archie Norman described living through the 2025 cyberattack that hit the company as “three months immersion into another world.”

Speaking at the Retail Technology Show in London last month, Norman said his teams watched their systems degrade in real time, which resulted in the company loosing around half its profit.

He said that company shut down vital systems, including ordering and time-in software and had to relearn techniques from a pre-internet era. Staff clock-ins were noted on clipboards, while ordering and replenishment was calculated manually and sent to suppliers. The attack’s effects still linger today, Norman said.

---