Dunelm Group Plc set to bring up to 70 new jobs to Northamptonshire in preparation for Christmas demand

Daventry is set to welcome up to 70 new jobs in the local area by the end of January next year, according to retailer Dunelm Group Plc who will be moving in come December.

The company plans to move into a new warehouse at Prologis RFI Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT), which is billed as the 'most successful intermodal (rail/road) logistics park in the UK' according to the location's website. This because of its proximity to the M1 motorway and West Coast Mainline.

The new site will be helping the retailer meet customer demand ahead of the festive period and then from January will be become a key element in the growth of Dunelm’s furniture business and providing better delivery service levels.

Dunelm says this move supports the company's focus on innovating and improving its customer proposition, as well as the growth in home delivery and click & collect operations that resulted from the pandemic.

With 175 shops operating across the UK, the company has taken a 10-year lease on this new logistics building in the East Midlands, which will be home to the Dunelm Home Delivery network and furniture range.

The company says its location is in the logistics ‘golden triangle’, at the heart of the UK’s motorway and rail network. This will help boost its ability to deliver for customers.

They cite successes like Sainsbury’s and Tesco, also on the site, where transport links have played a 'significant role' in keeping goods and services flowing around the country during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to do so during the current supply chain crisis.

Tom Price, capital deployment and leasing director at Prologis UK, said: “We’ve worked with Dunelm for a long time, and seeing this project come to completion is testament to the strength of our relationship.

“DIRFT continues to be an incredibly popular prospect for businesses looking to harness the power of multimodal freight and further extensions to the site will provide even more opportunities for businesses which want to strengthen their presence in the golden triangle.”

Dunelm has also claimed that their new building will reflect the company’s 'ambitious' targets around sustainability and carbon reduction, with an EPC ‘A24’ rating, a BREEAM rating of ‘excellent’ and features such as 15% roof lights, rainwater harvesting, and LED lighting.

The building has also had its environmental credentials certified by The Planet Mark and is mitigating 100% of the embodied carbon involved in its construction.

Richard Street, Supply Chain Development Director, Dunelm Group PLC, said: “Our new DIRFT warehouse facility is an important move for Dunelm – not only is the location excellent for better serving our customer needs but the new site will make a significant contribution to our improving our environmental footprint.”

The retailer will be arriving in Daventry in December.