The Hut Group to invest 100 million pounds

Online retailer The Hut Group, which includes MyBag.com, TheHut.com and Coggles, has announced that it plans to invest 100 million pounds in a new distribution and manufacturing centre in Warrington, creating 2,000 jobs over the next three years.

The investment was announced as the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Prime Minister David Cameron visited The Hut Group’s distribution site. The retail group said that the 836,000 square foot distribution and manufacturing ‘centre of excellence’ to be built at Omega South distribution park would not only create new jobs but also help the group to increase revenues to 1 billion pounds.

The group will invest around 80 million pounds initially in the site by the end of 2015, through both construction and technology, with a further 20 million pounds earmarked for development of the additional development land within 3 years.

In addition to construction jobs, the group expects to offer new roles in technology, engineering, digital and the supply chain, as well as graduate opportunities.

Chancellor George Osborne said: “The Hut Group’s investment in 2,000 new jobs in the North West is fantastic news for the area. It shows that our long-term economic plan to create jobs and investment in the north of England and increase the region’s exports to the rest of the world, is working. I want Britain to be a country where companies want to invest and create jobs, which is exactly what The Hut Group is doing today.”

The Hut Group to create 2000 jobs following investment pledge

Matthew Moulding, chief executive of The Hut Group, added: "In 2014, we invested a further 15 million pounds in our proprietary technology platform, creating an additional 400 jobs in the region during the year. This investment enabled us to launch a further 17 international websites across Europe, north America, China and Scandinavia, shipping 13 million orders to 190 countries, with the majority of our sales occurring outside the UK.

"Our 100 million pounds investment in the Omega project is a continuation of THG’s commitment to develop as a British export success, and through the creation of our manufacturing centre of excellence we hope to stimulate further growth, both in the UK and Global nutrition markets."

The Hut Group is one of Europe’s largest online retailers, selling goods direct to consumers across the prestige clothing, footwear and accessories sectors, as well as health and beauty specifically sports nutrition and vitamins, cycling and endurance, prestige hair and skin care and weight management. In its most recent results, sales for the year to December 31, 2013, were up 34 percent to 176.4 million pounds.

Image: The Hut Group