A Retailer with Big Ambitions
When The Range sets out to create something, they don't do half measures. This is a retailer that's grown from a single shop in Plymouth to over 210 stores across the UK, selling everything from garden furniture to kitchen appliances, paint to picture frames. They know their customers want choice, value, and stock that's readily available when they need it. Which meant their latest distribution centre needed to match that ambition.
Gateway 14 in Stowmarket measures over 110,000 square metres of space, the largest warehouse in the southeast of England (at the time of writing). But size alone doesn't solve problems. The challenge is finding the perfect solution for managing a fast-growing portfolio of stock. The Range supplies over 210 stores with well over 140,000 items of stock, which is continually changing from season to season. Meaning any new warehouse needs to be able to keep up with the demands of shoppers during busy retail periods, such as Christmas.
A blank canvas of Immense Opportunity
The sheer scale of the project presented a unique set of challenges. Not just in filling the space, but in designing a cohesive ecosystem to streamline every part of the supply chain. The Range's purchase of Wilko and Homebase in 2024 meant their operations grew significantly, expanding their multichannel footprint.
The new warehouse environment had to be a safe, effective, and welcoming workplace for the over 1,000 new employees who would power its operations, making the human element as important as the logistical one.
But the core challenge remained: transform this enormous empty shell into a highly efficient, intelligent, and future-proofed distribution hub.
Ambitious Targets: Efficiency, Expansion, and Endurance
The Range’s vision for the Stowmarket facility was clear and ambitious, focused on three core objectives:
- Enhance operational efficiency - streamline logistics to meet growing demand across all channels.
- Support multichannel expansion - create a hub capable of servicing both their physical store network and rapidly growing e-commerce division, now including Wilko.com.
- Future-proof operations - build something scalable and adaptable for years of growth ahead.
"You've got to adapt and be agile, so we need to take advantage of every opportunity," explains Carl Aldrich, Health & Safety Lead at The Range.
To realise this vision, The Range needed a partner with the expertise and capacity to deliver a solution on an unprecedented scale.
This is where Dexion enters...
Engineering a Tailored Logistical Powerhouse
This was one of Dexion's largest industrial projects to date. This demanded a fully bespoke solution. Working closely with The Range, we delivered a multi-faceted installation that transformed the empty warehouse into a highly organised distribution powerhouse.
At the heart of the development sits a vast installation of Dexion P90 pallet racking. Providing over 145,000 pallet positions, reaching 14.5m in height and running for continuous lengths of up to 226m, forming the warehouse's high-density storage core, comprised of a high-value goods zone, a dangerous goods zone, and the rest making up areas used for quickly rotating stock throughout the year.
"This has given us the opportunity to store products safely and efficiently," says Carl Aldrich.
Supporting E-commerce Growth
To support The Range's expanding e-commerce division, Dexion installed two mezzanine floors with pallet gates for unloading stock onto LS3 shelves. This smart vertical design created an additional 16,500m² of dedicated storage space without eating into valuable floorspace.
The mezzanine areas are purpose-built to handle the dynamic and fast-paced demands of online order fulfilment, from picking individual items to managing returns.
Designed for Safety and Easy Flow
The picking areas required careful consideration for fire safety - "We specially designed the pick-bays for The Range, with the dividers in place, maintaining gaps allowing adequate waterflow for the sprinkler system," explains John Scott, Project Manager at Dexion Material Handling.
Safety was a priority throughout the entire build. "We collaborated with Dexion to manufacture bespoke upright protectors to prevent reach trucks from damaging the picking area," adds Carl Aldrich. The entire system works as a unified ecosystem - mass capacity feeding versatile storage, ensuring seamless flow from bulk storage to individual order picking.
A Strategic Hub Fuelling Growth and Opportunity
The success of the Stowmarket project is measured not just in tonnes of steel or pallet spaces, but in tangible outcomes for the business and the profound human impact. The facility is now fully operational, delivering on every aspect of the initial strategic plan. Dexion's intelligent design was key in achieving The Range's goal of enhancing operational efficiency and streamlining the businesses logistics. With faster picking, improved inventory control, and a seamless flow of goods from arrival to dispatch, the warehouse now powers the entire multichannel network. Forming an essential part of the businesses supply chain to over 210 stores nationwide and handling Wilko's and Homebase's online orders with ease.
To support a smooth transition into the new facility, Dexion implemented a phased handover approach. As individual areas of the warehouse were completed, The Range was able to begin filling shelves, training staff, and preparing systems, allowing operations to ramp up quickly and efficiently without waiting for full project completion. This staged delivery helped maintain momentum and ensured the site was operational as early as possible.
This unified approach has created a more robust and reactive supply chain, capable of adapting to seasonal peaks and future growth.
Investing in People, Place and Partnership
Beyond logistics, the project has delivered significant value to the Stowmarket community. Over 1,000 permanent jobs have been created, providing a major boost to the local economy. “It’s great to be able to recruit locally from within Stowmarket.” Ian Lucas, General Manager, The Range.
The success of this landmark project reflects a truly collaborative partnership between The Range and Dexion. The clear vision, combined with Dexion’s engineering expertise, brought to life one of the most significant logistics hubs in the region.
“We are thrilled to receive the keys to this best-in-class distribution centre, which is a key milestone in The Range’s commitment to enhancing operational efficiency, streamlining logistics and supporting the expansion of our retail store network and website in the UK.”
adds Alex Simpkin, CEO, The Range.
Dexion’s solution delivered the infrastructure and the operational foundation for The Range’s future. In the competitive landscape of UK retail, this facility stands as a strategic advantage, built to scale, built to last, and built to lead.