Lidl opens its largest logistics hub in Europe

Lidl has opened the doors of its new flagship logistics hub in Ablis, southwest of Paris. Covering 87,000 sqm, it is the largest of its kind in Europe.

Built for growth

The new logistics hub will initially serve around fifty Lidl shops in the Paris region. The construction project took more than seven years to complete, but it has now been officially inaugurated, LSA reports.

The hub includes 5,800 sqm of office space and fourteen loading and unloading docks. The site should be able to receive 9,000 pallets daily, with 10,000 going out weekly. As Lidl plans to open more stores in France, the discounter has built the logistics hub with the capacity to grow with the increasing demand.

The hub aims to be more sustainable than ever, recycling 92 % of all of its waste. The distribution centre ensures that trucks never return empty, by transporting goods and waste simultaneously. More than 12,000 sqm of solar panels cover a quarter of the building’s energy needs. By March, all fifteen ‘product cells’ in the hub should be fully operational.