Christmas parcel volumes up 40% at Hermes UK
British parcel delivery company Hermes UK says its pre-Christmas volumes were up 40% on the same period in 2010. The Leeds-based subsidiary of Germany’s Hermes Logistics Group said it delivered almost 15m items during December, on behalf of its high street, online and catalogue retailers.
Hermes UK said its busiest day was 1st December, when 710,000 parcels were handled in its network of more than 7,500 couriers.
The company said its peak day saw 30% high volume than the peak in 2010, and also came a week earlier – suggesting that more UK consumers were shopping earlier in order to avoid the kind of disruptions that were caused by widespread snowfalls the year before.
Such was the volume growth overall, Hermes UK said it experienced 16 record days of deliveries during the month of December, with eight separate days on which more than 600,000 items were handled.
Jon Tobbell, the commercial director of Hermes UK, said his company was handling more than 140m parcels a year now across the UK.
“With Internet sales breaking all records this Christmas, we have seen increased demand for our flexible, high-quality home delivery solution,” he said.
“The supply chain is a critical part of any retail operation, especially during the peak trading period, so we are working closely with our customers to provide a first-rate consumer experience.”
Expansion
Hermes UK is set to continue last year’s expansion of its network in 2012, with plans for four new depots to help cope with growing volumes.
The company saw a 6% increase in sales last year, and told Post&Parcel towards the end of last year that it was expecting this year to see sales growth well into the double digits, thanks to a strong pipeline of new clients.
Currently, Hermes UK clients include the likes of Next Directory, Readers Digest, ASOS and Lakeland Ltd.
Last year, the company revealed plans to develop a network of parcel shops in the UK to add extra convenience for consumers in collecting their packages while away from home, which has proved a popular concept in Hermes UK’s sister company in Germany.
