Printemps, Paris, France
Printemps needed a distribution centre dedicated solely to supplying the needs of the group's flagship store on the Boulevard Haussman, the shopping centre of the french capital.

The importance of a mezzanine floor to maximize the storage area in a warehouse and to facilitate the picking of a large variety of items is amply demonstrated in this project for one of France's leading retailers.

A conveniently situated greenfield site to the east of Paris was the chosen location for the centre. The site allowed sufficient space for the client's foreseeable requirements, while offering the possibility of future expansion.

Given the huge number of product lines that Printemps carries, the necessity of being able to accommodate the speedy and accurate storage of incoming goods was very important to the client. Similarly, the swift retrieval and picking of thousands of fast moving product lines was crucial in ensuring that the flow of goods to the Boulevard Haussmann store was maintained at an optimum level.

The client opted for a simple picking operation from standard shelving situated on and below a large single level mezzanine floor, as this would enable the available space to be best utilized. Mezzanine designed and installed the 6,500 square metre tailor-made mezzanine floor. It was designed specifically to support the shelving that would be installed throughout the mezzanine level. The design also ensured that the placement of the supporting columns and bracing would not interfere unduly with the ground floor shelving layout. In this regard it was important to maximize the number of picking locations available to the client. In all, over eighty kilometers of shelving was used in the distribution centre.

The result is a simple, effective, distribution centre.