Home Bargains has revealed that its new state-of-the-art automated distribution centre at Omega Business Park in St Helens, Warrington, is now servicing 200 of its stores across the UK.
The facility, which opened earlier this year, is already handling over 25,000 pallets of stock each week, picking and dispatching almost 2 million cases, equivalent to more than 50,000 cages of stock, and over 1,000 store deliveries per week. More than 60% of all cases picked have been achieved through the fully automated area of the distribution centre.
The fast-growing retailer noted that this marks a “significant step forward” in supporting its expansion strategy, with the company aiming to grow from its current 600 stores to between 800 and 1,000 in the longer term.
Operations at the Omega site will continue to ramp up over the coming weeks, ahead of a short pause to focus on peak Christmas trade. The ramp-up will resume in January 2026, with the distribution centre on track to serve 312 stores by the end of January 2026.
At the same time, Home Bargains is progressing work on its next development – a new distribution centre in Doncaster, planned to open in Summer 2028. Once complete, the Doncaster site will add capacity for 300+ additional stores, further supporting the company’s expansion plans.
“The Omega distribution centre is a cornerstone of our strategy to deliver greater efficiency, resilience, and scalability in our supply chain,” said Neil Kelson, Head of Logistics.
“We’re proud to see it already making such a strong impact, and we look forward to building on this success as we expand towards Doncaster and beyond.”
Home Bargains saw its turnover climb 11.7% to £4.21bn over the year to 30 June 2024, driven by new openings, store re-sites, and an increased contribution from existing sites. Operating profits jumped 34.2% to £434.4m, while pre-tax earnings rose 35.2% to £454.8m.
