French menswear retailer Celio has expanded its logistics footprint in Amblainville, north of Paris, to 55,000 sqm. Landlord Argan delivered two additional cells totalling 12,000 sqm, alongside an energy-performance upgrade under its Aut0nom label. The retailer also signed a fresh 10-year firm lease covering the whole site.
Capacity for Celio Women Growth
The Amblainville hub has been Celio’s flagship distribution platform since 2012, with an earlier expansion delivered by Argan in 2017. The latest extension follows the retailer’s push into womenswear, initially fed by the 2022 takeover of bankrupt apparel chain Camaïeu and formalised in March with the launch of Celio Women. Flows from the female range have now been consolidated on the Amblainville site, which serves a network approaching 300 stores in France plus subsidiaries in Belgium and Iberia.
Automation and Solar Power
The original platform was equipped from day one with high-end automation supplied by Knapp and its subsidiary Dürkopp, and the extension preserves that operational backbone. Argan’s Aut0nom programme adds a 400 kWp rooftop photovoltaic array dedicated to on-site self-consumption, backed by 250 kWh of battery storage. The system is designed to cover a meaningful share of the warehouse’s electricity needs while reducing exposure to grid price volatility.
A Logistics Anchor for Mid-Cap Retail
Celio’s growth, described by management as double-digit in a sector where most peers are flat, is increasingly tied to logistics execution. The Amblainville extension lets the retailer absorb the Celio Women SKU set, the broader mixed-gender store rollout and any further international expansion without splitting its primary distribution centre. Supply chain director Julie Schaf called the delivery a key step for both operational capacity and environmental performance.
