Macy’s to build large West Virginia DC

MacyÆs to build large West Virginia DC    National retailer Macy’s said this week it will build a large distribution center near Martinsburg, W.Va., to support the continued growth of its online business.
   The site is located along Interstate 81, about 80 miles northwest of Washington.
   Construction on the 1.3 million-square-foot facility is expected to begin in spring 2011, with operations starting in April 2012 and order shipments beginning in summer 2012, the company said.
   When fully operational, the Martinsburg facility is expected to employ about 1,200 full- and part-time staff year-round. In addition, another 700 temporary seasonal employees will be hired each year to handle higher levels of online orders from customers during the holiday season.
   “The new Martinsburg fulfillment center will represent a significant expansion of our online capacity, and will be used in particular to prepare and ship orders to macys.com customers in Northeast and Middle Atlantic states,' said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Macy’s, in a statement. 'This center will include the very latest material handling equipment and warehouse management systems so we can fill orders quickly and efficiently.'
   Online orders from macys.com have been handled by Macy’s distribution centers in Portland, Tenn., and Goodyear, Ariz., while Bloomingdales.com orders are handled mostly by a warehouse in Cheshire, Conn.
   As previously announced by Macy's, the Portland facility, with 600,000 square feet of space, will be expanded by 374,000 square feet in a project expected to be completed in fall 2011.