Adore Me seeks to disrupt brick-and-mortar with robotic DC

1/10/2019
A fast-growing online lingerie startup is creating an innovative foundation for its expansion into physical retail.

Adore Me has opened a 126,286-sq.-ft. distribution center in Secaucus, N.J. The startup automates order management in its center by combining two robotic technologies: AutoStore cube storage technology and Opex SureSort automated delivery sorting. AutoStore uses robots and a traffic management system to densely stack bins without traditional spacing. SureSort is a robotic sorter that automatically reads barcodes and delivers items in a single pass.

By leveraging these solutions, Adore Me says its new warehouse is fulfilling over 20 thousand orders per day, which represents four times the volume of a conventional distribution center. In addition to speed, orders are completed at lower cost and with increased accuracy.

"I'm delighted to announce that the distribution center is fully up and running,” said Morgan Hermand-Waiche, founder and CEO, Adore Me. “The opening marks a very important and exciting milestone for Adore Me, as it will help to fuel our growth for the future. Building our own cutting-edge distribution center has been a fundamental stepping stone in being able to deliver an omnichannel experience."

AdoreMe recently opened its first two stores, in Bridgewater, N.J. and Staten Island, N.Y. as part of a larger plan to open 300 stores in the next five years. This month, AdoreMe is opening a 5,000-sq.-ft. location at Providence Place, Providence, R.I., and a 2,700-sq-ft. space at Willowbrook Mall, Wayne, N.J. High-tech elements such as smart RFID fitting room technology from Store Advise and other solutions will collect, analyze, and visualize data about in-store customer engagement.

AdoreMe is also expanding internationally online. The new, cutting-edge distribution center should help the e-tailer keep pace with the rapidly growing order volume its aggressive growth strategy will create. The distribution center currently employs approximately 100 people, out of which 75% are female as part of AdoreMe’s female empowerment mission.
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