23/11/12...At first glance this new warehouse looks similar to any one of the seven giant Amazon depots in Britain. But take a closer look at the giant Fulfillment Centre - as it's called - and you'll notice that there isn't a single book anywhere in sight...The 700,000 sq. ft. site in Rugeley, Staffordshire, is however stuffed full of toys, games, and electronic equipment. ..Photographed here for the first time, the Rugeley site opened last September - the first one of the company's specialist fulfillment centres not to sell books. Staff there are working flat-out processing Christmas orders. The company has employed an extra 10,000 members of staff across Britain to cope with the surge in Christmas orders...At the Christmas 2011 peak, Amazon's UK fulfilment centres shipped over 2.1m units in one 24 hour period - a total of 1,124 tones of goods - which meant a delivery truck left a fulfillment centre once every two minutes and 45 seconds...Online retailers name today 'Black Friday' as it marks the beginning of the Christmas rush - which is expected to peak this year on December 3rd -  'Cyber Monday'...Amazon first went online in the UK in 1998 selling books. It soon became the world's largest bookstore before becoming the biggest online retailer when it began selling other items....All Rights Reserved - F Stop Press  - T: +44 (0)1335 300098..Local copyright law applies to all print & online usage. Fees charged will comply with standard space rates and usage for that country, region or state...
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