Parcels of online mail order company Zalando are transported on a conveyor through an automatic coding device at the parcel distribution center of Schweizerische Post (Swiss Post) in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Zalando ZALG.DE, Europe's leading online fashion retailer, said it would build a 140,000 square meter warehouse near the Dutch port of Rotterdam to serve its customers in the Benelux countries, France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The facility, which will eventually employ 1,500 people and have a storage capacity of 16 million items, will start operating in summer 2021 and help shorten delivery times, the German company said on Thursday.

The development is being undertaken by a joint venture of Somerset Capital Partners and USAA Realco-Europe, it added.