M+E Daily

Sony DADC Establishing New Distribution Center in London Area

Sony DADC is resuming retail fulfillment operations for the UK’s largest independent music distributor, following the destruction of millions of CDs and vinyl LPs in an Aug. 8 fire at DADC’s London-area warehouse.

Music distributor [PIAS] UK says that it has finalized a logistics plan with DADC as well as a new partner, Proper Music Distribution, to resume retail delivery of new releases and catalog product for the 150-plus labels the company serves. According to [PIAS], Sony has established a new distribution center in Hoddesdon, a town approximately 20 miles northeast of London. The distributor said the new DADC center would be “fully functional” as of Monday, Aug. 22. The site will fulfill bulk orders of [PIAS]-distributed music for the HMV retail chain (including new releases, chart albums, and in-store campaigns), as well as supermarket business, international shipments, and orders from wholesalers.

Sony DADC did not immediately return a request for comment.

Proper Music Distribution, meanwhile, will fulfill HMV catalog orders for the labels, as well as all orders from the region’s independent retailers and online business from Amazon and Play.com. [PIAS] says that while “the majority of retailers will revert back to being serviced by Sony DADC,” Proper will handle fulfillment to independent retailers “for the foreseeable future” to “ease the burden” on the new DADC facility.

The music distributor adds that it already has overcome the crisis for English singer-songwriter Charlie Simpson, whose anticipated debut album arrived in stores on Aug. 15 despite all of the original stock being destroyed in the DADC fire. The album is on track to score a Top Ten position in the country’s album sales chart this weekend, [PIAS] says.