Boohoo Shutting Distribution Centre Less Than Three Years After Opening

Fast fashion giant Boohoo is set to close its distribution centre near Daventry, Northamptonshire, less than three years after its 2021 opening. The company attributed the closure to the recent establishment of a new facility in the United States and a significant £150 million investment in its Sheffield location.

Approximately 400 employees will be affected by the closure, with Boohoo stating that the decision was “difficult but necessary” to align with the evolving needs of its growing American market. In a released statement, Boohoo mentioned, “As our business and customer needs evolve, the group has taken the difficult but necessary decision to close our Daventry operation and divert investment to other UK sites, in order to better serve our customers around the world.”

The company emphasized its commitment to supporting affected colleagues during the transition. Boohoo will maintain operations at two remaining UK-based distribution centers, located in Burnley and Sheffield, alongside the newly inaugurated Pennsylvania site in the United States. While no official closure date has been disclosed, a consultation process began in the latter part of the previous year.

This development follows Boohoo’s earlier controversy involving ‘Made in the UK’ labels on garments produced in South Asia. A BBC Panorama investigation revealed that plain T-shirts and hoodies from the fast fashion firm had their original labels removed at Boohoo’s flagship factory in Thurmaston Lane, Leicester. The mislabeling, affecting up to one in 250 garments in Boohoo’s global supply between January and October 2023, was attributed to a misinterpretation of labeling rules. Boohoo asserted that the incident resulted from human error and took corrective measures to prevent a recurrence, stating, “We have taken steps to ensure this does not happen again.”