A Canadian department store chain is opening a distribution facility in Foster Township and bringing more than 200 new jobs to the area.
Hudson’s Bay Co., parent company of Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue which has 90 department stores that operate exclusively in Canada, announced Thursday that the company will be moving into an existing 455,000-square-foot building at Highridge Business Park in Foster Township. The property at 25 Keystone Blvd. was formerly owned by Prologis. Sears and Electrolux also previously occupied the building, which was built in 2000.
HBC will open the distribution center on July 1, according to a press release from the company. It will house corporate offices, a photo studio and a warehouse and initially have about 600 positions, including 207 new, full-time jobs at the facility while bringing about 390 positions from the company’s Wilkes-Barre location. When the facility opens, the company will have about 1,350 positions between the two facilities in Pennsylvania.
“HBC’s decision to operate an additional distribution center in Pennsylvania, which will create hundreds of additional jobs, is a testament to our state’s highly dedicated workforce and an important reflection of critical economic progress,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a prepared statement Thursday. “We are delighted to work with HBC to better serve its customers and accelerate its growth.”
HBC has committed to investing at least $50 million in the project and expand the facility to 617,500 square feet by January 2017. The facility will also include a 50,000-square-foot fashion photography studio.
“Renovations and movement of the company into the building will take place in a really short time frame,” Frank Zukas, president of the Schuylkill Economic Development Corp., said Thursday.
He said it will likely be within a few weeks.
The distribution center will run robotic retail technology that will enable HBC to reduce costs while improving output volume and accuracy, according to a press release from the company. It will support all e-commerce fulfillment for HBC’s Lord & Taylor and Saks OFF 5TH department store banners.
“At HBC, we are laser-focused on our all-channel strategy, and this investment leapfrogs us to the forefront of internet distribution technology,” Jerry Storch, HBC’s chief executive officer, said. “As we execute on our digital strategy, we continue to invest in innovation that enables us to serve our consumers seamlessly, lead the evolution of trends in the retail industry and expand our business which creates new job opportunities and investment in the community.”
The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team, an experienced group of economic development professionals who report directly to the governor and work with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania, in collaboration with SEDCO.
“This is the nineteenth jobs announcement that my administration has made with the Governor’s Action Team this year, securing commitments for the creation of thousands new jobs all across the commonwealth,” Wolf said. “Each announcement is another boost to Pennsylvania’s economy and the addition of HBC’s new facility in Schuylkill County means 207, new, full-time jobs for Pennsylvanians.”
HBC received a funding proposal from the Department of Community and Economic Development that includes a $500,000 Pennsylvania First program grant, $93,150 in WEDnetPA funding for employee training and $414,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits to be distributed upon creation of the new jobs.
“We are grateful to Governor Wolf and the Governor’s Action Team, and excited to become part of the Pottsville community,” Storch said.
Zukas said various local players were also involved in bringing the company to Schuylkill County, including the county commissioners, Minersville Area School District, and Foster and Cass townships. He said NorthPoint Pottsville Industrial LLC made sure the location could meet the requirements of HBC.
“We do have a really close working relationship with utilities as well,” Zukas said. “It was a combination of really everyone making sure the schedule could be met.”
Zukas said the area is an ideal location because of its proximity to Interstates 81 and 78 and companies like Wal-Mart and Wegmans are already taking advantage of it.
“It’s an ideal location to hit the largest population block in the U.S.,” Zukas said.
Hudson’s Bay Company is the oldest company in North America. HBC’s leading North American banners include Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Gilt and Saks OFF 5TH, along with Find @ Lord & Taylor and Home Outfitters. In Europe, its banners include GALERIA Kaufhof, the largest department store group in Germany, Belgium’s only department store group Galeria INNO, as well as Sportarena. The company has more than 460 stores and 66,000 employees around the world.