Workit to open second e-commerce hub in Alexandria following surge in online shopping
The boom in online shopping during the COVID-19 crisis has emboldened one coworking provider to fast-track the opening of a second hub for small digital businesses in Sydney.
The company, Workit, operates a combined logistics, showroom and office centre at 13-21 Mandible Street, in Alexandria, which it describes as an “e-commerce hub” – hosting about 60 businesses, including a mix of retailers using showroom space and service industries using desk space.
Founded in 2017 with an initial office-only space at 9/17 Power Street, Alexandria, Workit had long-term plans to expand to a second e-commerce facility, but the boost in inquiries from online businesses during the early stages of the pandemic convinced them to pull the trigger on a second location in 2020.
“Though the lockdown restrictions fuelled a lot of uncertainty, we decided to hire more digital staff to bolster our online presence and focus our marketing efforts on our e-commerce hub … Combined with the thriving e-commerce market, we ended up seeing a significant increase in inquiries, to the point where we have made plans to build a new hub in order to meet demand,” co-founder Emily Townsend said.
The new facility will be in a Goodman-built warehouse at Unit A1/35-39 Bourke Road, opposite the Grounds of Alexandria.
Workit says it will cater for up to 350 businesses, with about 20 businesses registering their interest so far, and a projected occupancy of 50 per cent when it opens.
The new 9000-square-metre hub will consist of offices, showrooms, warehousing spaces – each of which can be rented out separately – as well as shared loading docks and shipping stations.
To ensure the space is COVID-19-safe, there will be features such as thermal body scanners, UV light airconditioning, wider corridors and antimicrobial surfaces.
The first 3000 square metres will open in November this year, with the remainder to come online next year.
The current Workit e-commerce hub has clients as diverse as a beer brewing company, bicycle and scooter supplier and solar businesses.
The company, which runs the only coworking facility to cater to logistics clients in Sydney, now plans to focus solely on e-commerce for future expansion.
“With more people starting to look online when doing their shopping, the e-commerce industry is only set to continue booming,” Ms Townsend said.
Advantages of the coworking model for e-commerce business, particularly those in the start-up phase, include access to a shared shipping account, offering bulk rates to all businesses regardless of the number of goods they are shipping.
“We’re seeing how small e-commerce businesses in Australia need a space that allows them to operate efficiently and grow and we have therefore chosen to focus our future expansion on e-commerce hubs,” Ms Townsend said.
