Booktopia Group Limited provided an update on the securing of a new Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC). A number of years of high growth during COVID and an increase in inventory to meet the demands of customers has led to constant retrofitting of Lidcombe facility to a point that it is now a constraint on growth and efficiency. With the Lidcombe lease ending in 2023 they are taking the opportunity to move customer fulfilment to a larger 20,000sqm clean skin facility in the same area.

Booktopia has executed a lease agreement for its new CFC at South Strathfield in Sydney's west which will underpin the company's future distribution capacity and is expected to drive significant operational efficiencies. The company will move to the new CFC over the next 18 months and it is anticipated the new CFC will be operational in time for Christmas 2023. The company is currently in advanced discussions to finalise a finance package to support an investment of $14 million in new equipment across FY23 and FY24, which, in addition to the reuse of much of the company's existing equipment, will support the efficient fulfilment of over 12 million units per annum with flexibility built into the design for further expansion whilst reducing labour costs per unit in the CFC compared with existing operations.

Key features of the new CFC include: Advanced, scalable, flexible robotics platform that will significantly improve put away and picking activities. A custom-designed layout that will facilitate an efficient flow of product through the CFC and reduce manual handling (current Lidcombe facility was retro-fitted over time). Future-proof design that supports further automation driving even more efficiency without major rework.

Improved working conditions for team members.