ID4Fashion: La Redoute's Former Warehouse Becomes Logistics Hub for Fashion's Future
The vast 42,000-square-metre warehouse in Wattrelos, now known as ID4Fashion, has fully opened its doors, marking a significant transition for what was formerly La Redoute’s Quai 30 site. Since June 1st, the facility has come under the expert management of ID Logistics, poised to revolutionize fashion logistics. While currently processing approximately 20 million orders annually, the site boasts an impressive capacity to handle up to 45 million orders each year, clearly indicating substantial headroom for future expansion and activity ramp-up.
Inside the buzzing facility, a highly automated system orchestrates the meticulous journey of each item. Twenty-one aisles of shelving stretch upwards towards the high ceiling of the expansive storage area. Here, columns equipped with vertical shuttles swiftly retrieve required cartons, which then travel via conveyor to operators. These operators meticulously pick individual items and place them into hanging pouches. The pouches then proceed along a rail system to an adjacent room, where a second operator consolidates and precisely packs the orders, adhering to the specific requirements of each partner brand. This streamlined process allows an item to complete its journey from order placement to dispatch in as little as two hours.
ID Logistics places a strong emphasis on flexibility and specialized service, particularly crucial in the diverse fashion market. As Arnaud Lainé, ID Logistics Fashion Market Director, explains, "We know there are stages where clients need highly tailored responses." This commitment extends to crucial aspects like quality control and packaging, where each retailer's unique requirements are met. The facility also demonstrates real expertise in handling small items and boasts an efficient returns process, ensuring items can be swiftly put back on sale within 24 hours. The order-picking and returns areas feature numerous unoccupied workstations, strategically designed to seamlessly integrate future partner brands and distributors.
The strategic partnership behind ID4Fashion serves a specific purpose for La Redoute, which retains ownership of the site and its equipment, situated on the outskirts of Roubaix. The 350 employees, nearly 60% of whom are women, are now employed by ID Logistics. For La Redoute, with fashion no longer its primary market, the move is a vital component of its industrial strategy. Patrice Fitzner, Logistics Director at La Redoute, elaborates, "The aim is to sustain our industrial activity. We need to be in a position to feed sufficient volume into this site, hence this industrial partnership with ID Logistics," highlighting La Redoute’s substantial investment of approximately €45 million in the facility’s equipment since 2013, excluding the building itself.
For ID Logistics, ID4Fashion represents a significant enhancement to its global network, joining over 450 sites managed across 19 countries, encompassing more than 9 million square metres of warehouse space and processing over 22 million transport orders annually. With apparel accounting for 10% of its business, the former Quai 30 offers a prime opportunity to bolster its capabilities in this rapidly expanding sector. Éric Hémard, President of ID Logistics, emphasizes the relevance of providers with the capacity to manage flows at scale, especially "Against a backdrop of robust online clothing sales." He anticipates that such strategic partnerships, akin to the one forged with La Redoute, could be replicated multiple times over the next two to three years, potentially extending beyond the fashion industry.
The ambition for ID4Fashion is clear: for third-party brands to account for one-third of the activity in the near future, while La Redoute continues to occupy the majority of the site's capacity. To attract these new customers, ID4Fashion is leveraging its advanced capabilities to offer next-day delivery in France and swift delivery within two to four days across approximately twenty European countries. ID Logistics is actively engaged in discussions with a diverse range of potential clients, from a premium brand like "Cérémonial," with an annual volume of 8 million units (80% online sales), to an affordable fashion brand selling 3 million units split evenly between stores and online, and even a luxury multi-brand platform aiming to handle one million items of clothing, footwear, and leather goods.
Concurrently, ID Logistics continues to invest in specialized logistics infrastructure, as evidenced by its preparations for a new warehouse in the Aube region of France, scheduled for 2027. This 25,000-square-metre site, representing an investment of €45 million, will be primarily dedicated to Parfums Christian Dior, underscoring ID Logistics' strategic expansion and commitment to high-value, tailored logistics solutions across various industries.
