Burlington Opens 2-Million-Square-Foot Distribution Center in Georgia to Support National Expansion

Quick Facts

Burlington opened a 2,057,000-square-foot automated distribution center in Ellabell, Georgia, its largest facility ever and twice the size of its Logan, N.J. location.
The center includes more than 25 miles of conveyor automation, 155 dock doors, and custom sortation software built for off-price processing.
Burlington expects the facility to support 1,500 jobs and help fuel a planned expansion to 1,500-plus stores by end of 2028.

Burlington Stores cut the ribbon on its new Ellabell, Georgia, distribution center on June 18, marking the off-price retailer’s first facility in the Southeast and its most advanced supply chain investment to date.

The 2,057,000-square-foot center sits within the Interstate West Industrial Park near Savannah and was developed by VanTrust Real Estate. It began partial operations last quarter before reaching full capacity this month.

The facility dwarfs Burlington’s next-largest distribution center in Logan, N.J., and includes 155 dock doors, five drive-in dock doors, and 26 miles of interior conveyors. Proprietary software tracks merchandise from the moment a truck enters the facility yard through to in-store receiving scans.

“This distribution center marks an important supply chain milestone for Burlington,” said Greg Shultz, EVP and Chief Supply Chain Officer. “The facility’s substantial size, smart workflow design and advanced technologies are a first for the brand.”

Shultz described the sortation systems as purpose-built for off-price retail, designed to process irregular merchandise flows at higher speed and throughput than conventional distribution infrastructure allows.

CFO Kristin Wolfe said the company expects freight cost savings tied to the facility’s proximity to Southern stores and vendors. She noted it typically takes about two years for a new distribution center to fully ramp. Over that period, Burlington anticipates supply chain costs as a percentage of sales will remain roughly flat in 2026 as startup costs offset ongoing productivity gains.

Burlington owns this facility rather than leasing it, a shift from past practice. “Historically, we have leased our distribution centers, which made sense at the time when our balance sheet was much more leveraged,” Wolfe said. “We now have the balance sheet strength to own rather than lease. Ownership gives us greater control over the design of these buildings.”

The company’s supply chain investments have already paid off. Over the past two years, supply chain cost improvements contributed a combined 70 basis points of margin expansion. Adjusted earnings per share grew 26% in the most recent quarter, Burlington’s 14th straight quarter of double-digit EPS growth. Total sales rose 14% and comparable store sales increased 6%.

The Georgia facility is designed to support Burlington’s accelerating store growth. The company plans to open 115 net new stores this year, a company record, bringing total locations to roughly 1,320. Burlington has set a target of exceeding 1,500 stores by end of 2028.

The Ellabell center will support faster replenishment in the Southeast, a region the company has identified as critical to that growth timeline. “This is Burlington’s first distribution center in Georgia, and the new facility will enable increased service speed in the Southeast region,” Shultz said.

At full capacity, the facility is projected to create approximately 1,500 jobs in Ellabell and surrounding Bryan County. The building includes a 40,000-square-foot office with a cafeteria, fitness center, locker rooms, a meditation room, and a maternity room.

The Bryan County Chamber of Commerce joined Burlington at the ribbon-cutting. “Investments like this create jobs, strengthen our local economy, and reinforce why Bryan County continues to be a great place to live, work, and do business,” the organization said in a statement.

Burlington is also mid-way through a store modernization program, converting more than half its locations to wider aisles, improved signage, and updated fixtures. The remaining stores are scheduled to complete the transition by end of fiscal 2026.