Booktopia finds $12m for new fulfilment centre

Booktopia has secured $12 million in funding to support the development of its new customer fulfilment centre (CFC) at South Strathfield.

The new fitout will provide the Australian online bookstore with greater support to distribute over 12 million units each year alongside built-in flexibility, ensuring potential future expansion and reduced labour costs.

The $12 million comprises a $7 million trade finance facility with Australian non-bank lender Moneytech, and a $5 million short-term unsecured debt facility with AFSG Capital that "includes funding from major [Booktopia] shareholders Tony Nash and Steven Traurig."

Booktopia chairman Peter George said in a statement that the new CFC is "critical to ensuring Booktopia can deliver industry-leading efficiency in the medium and long-term." 

It is due to be operational in the second quarter of FY24 and is anticipated to drive better efficiency and margins compared to Booktopia's current Lidcombe-based facility, in Sydney's west.

The company said in August last year Covid demands and an inventory boost had led the Lidcombe CFC to become a “constraint on our growth and efficiency”.

With the Lidcombe facility lease ending at the end of last year, the company took the opportunity to shift operations to “a larger 20,000sqm cleanskin facility” in South Strathfield.

The company added the new space is to include an “advanced, scalable, flexible robotics platform that will significantly improve put away and picking activities”.

It’s said to also include “a custom-designed layout that will facilitate an efficient flow of product through the CFC and reduce manual handling”.