New York City — Saks Incorporated plans to expand its distribution and fulfillment capacity, adding a new facility in Tennessee in 2012.

The new distribution and fulfillment center will occupy approximately 564,000 square feet of leased space in LaVergne, Tenn., near Nashville. The state-of-the-art center will be equipped with a sophisticated mobile-robotic fulfillment system that has been successfully utilized in the company’s Maryland facility. Saks expects the Tennessee facility to be operational by August 2012 and ultimately to employ over 250 full-time associates at complete capacity.

“In order to support our omni-channel strategy and our continued sales growth, some time ago we recognized that we would need additional distribution and fulfillment capacity beginning in 2012,” says Steve Sadove, chairman and CEO of Saks. “Middle Tennessee is a great fit for our new facility and was selected for its central location, attractive real estate and operating costs, and very capable workforce.”

Saks currently operates a 471,000-square-foot distribution center in Aberdeen, Md., and a 120,000-square-foot distribution center in Ontario, Calif. The company will continue to operate those two facilities.

The Tennessee distribution center is owned in a joint venture managed by DCT Industrial Trust, a leading real estate company.

Saks Incorporated operates 46 Saks Fifth Avenue stores, 60 Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH stores, and saks.com.