GXO and Saks Debut D2C eCommerce Platform 

GXO Logistics, Inc. and Saks on Tuesday (Oct. 26) announced the GXO eFulfillment center in Middletown, Pennsylvania, has begun shipping Saks’ luxury fashion apparel and goods directly to customers across the U.S. through shared space distribution network GXO Direct. 

“When we launched Saks as a standalone eCommerce company nearly seven months ago, we set ambitious growth targets for the business and have quickly exceeded our initial expectations,” said Na Li, SVP of logistics and shipping at Saks, in the joint announcement. 

“With GXO, we are in an even better position to meet the higher demand of our business while providing fast and flawless shipping to customers throughout the peak holiday season,” she said. 

GXO Direct, which has 41 locations across the U.S., helps limit shipping miles and carbon dioxide emissions by reducing the need for expedited air transportation, which is six times more carbon-intensive than road transport, and gives flexibility for quick inventory shifts when demand changes. 

The GXO eFulfillment center in Middletown uses collaborative robots and other automation techniques to optimize efficiency, improve accuracy and enhance the employee experience. 

“Our new Middletown eFulfillment center allows us to respond to Saks’ eCommerce needs with speed and agility, which is particularly important at peak times such as the run-up to the holidays,” said Bill Fraine, GXO’s Chief Commercial Officer, in the joint announcement. 

“GXO Direct is designed to leverage our scale, capacity and innovation to give companies unprecedented flexibility in serving their customers,” he said. “We believe it will continue to help drive growth for GXO.” 

Related: Online Arm of Saks Preps IPO 

Saks is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in the first six months of 2022 that could give it an estimated valuation of $6 billion. 

Saks’ IPO plans align with the next steps of a deal struck earlier this year that moved to split Saks’ retail brick-and-mortar locations from its digital commerce branch, which had about $1 billion in annual sales. 

The parent company of Saks, HBC, went private last year at a whole-company valuation of $1.5 billion. The company then divided the luxury eCommerce unit, selling a minority share at a value of $2 billion to Insight Partners.