Analysis-Retailers turn to robots in cost inflation fight

Autonomous guided vehicles are seen at Primark's warehouse in Roosendaal, Netherlands November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

LONDON (Reuters) - At a vast warehouse in the southern Dutch city of Roosendaal, automated cranes and driverless vehicles silently stack clothes for the French and Italian stores of retailer Primark, reducing the need for hard-to-come-by labour.

With goods packed more densely up to its roof, the new warehouse, which spans the size of over 15 football fields, reduces the need for extra sites - and workers - leading in time to a lower cost base.