Forever 21 Decided on Establishing New European Distribution Center in Holland

Large-scale EDC in Bergen op Zoom follows the recently established European Headquarters in Breda

Though the ink on the tenancy agreement for the new European headquarters in Breda has scarcely had time to dry, Forever 21 is already expanding its operations in the Netherlands. The American clothing giant is to open a large-scale distribution centre (EDC) in Bergen op Zoom to serve the whole European continent. Initially renting 10,000 m2 of business space, Forever 21 will immediately employ 25 people for the order picking and distribution of Forever 21 fashion and accessories. The American clothing company has announced that it plans to increase this workforce to 150, depending, of course, on how quickly Forever 21 manages to conquer the European market.

Forever 21 has been operating in the United States since 1984, producing trendy fashion and matching accessories such as shoes, bags, belts and make-up in fast-changing collections at competitive prices, for young and fashion-sensitive consumers. The chain is developing rapidly, challenging European rivals such as H&M and Zara. Forever 21 is one of the fastest growing retail companies in the world and generated an annual turnover of more than US$ 2,3 billion in 2009.

Besides the usual distribution operations, the new European distribution center will also perform value-adding activities, including unpacking, sorting, labelling, pricing, packaging and getting the clothes and accessories ready for dispatch. The center in Bergen op Zoom will not only supply to Forever 21’s own stores, but will also dispatch the articles for the European webshop. The premises on which the center is to be accommodated have already been fitted out with equipment for the automated delivery of these goods.  

Rob Cuijpers, Forever 21’s Administrative Director for Europe, explains how Forever 21 managed to decide on this expansion so quickly. “While setting up our new headquarters, we established so many contacts in the West Brabant area, and our experiences with that project were so good, that we actually came to the conclusion quite rapidly that no other location in the Netherlands would be more suitable for our distribution centre.”

“Bergen op Zoom’s features make it an natural logistic junction. Being a waterside town, it has its own container terminals, and in the very near future, it will be connected to the A4 motorway. These aspects, combined with the fact that the prices of land and commercial real estate are slightly more favorable, were decisive factors for choosing for Bergen op Zoom instead of other towns in the West Brabant region", remarks Cuijpers. "And last but not least, we were pleasantly surprised by Bergen op Zoom’s council’s very cooperative and constructive attitude”.

REWIN and the council of Bergen op Zoom collaborated with the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) and the Noord-Brabant Investment Agency (BOM) for the acquisition of Forever 21. Axa, the owner of the premises that Forever 21 will be renting, also helped with the arrangements for the accommodation procedure.

Source: REWIN press release, 25 February 2011