NA-KD closes doors of new Dutch DC already

Due to disappointing financial results, Swedish fashion company NA-KD is closing the doors of its newly built distribution centre (DC) in the Dutch town of Duiven, near the German border, after only eighteen months. With the sizeable DC – located on an industrial estate along the A12 motorway towards the Ruhr region – NA-KD actually wanted to move further into Europe in the long run.

Founded in 2015, the company mainly targets women up to 35 years old. It quickly made it to one of the fastest-growing fashion websites in Europe.

To better serve the Dutch and German markets, NA-KD opened its second distribution centre in the province of Gelderland in August 2023 – in addition to the one in Sweden’s Landskrona. The plan was to serve other European markets from here later on.

Ten-year lease

The high-tech DC in Duiven has a capacity to process 10,000 orders per day. The total building covers 45,000 square metres of warehouse space, 7,500 square metres of mezzanine space, 4,500 square metres of office space and has 400 parking spaces. With an estimated square metre price of 70 euros and a 10-year lease, annual rental costs far exceed 3 million euros. The question is how the Swedish company resolves this with the landlord.

Operational work at the distribution centre was carried out by Dutch logistics service provider Logent. It has since informed staff of its imminent departure from Duiven.