Smiths News launches UK parcel shop business with Amazon

UK newspaper and magazine wholesaler Smiths News has launched a new same-day “click and collect” parcel delivery service — with Amazon as its launch client. The “Pass My Parcel” service will offer delivery of items either same day or next day to participating independent retail outlets, operating as parcel shops, where consumers will be able to pick up their online purchases.

Smiths News said it would leverage its existing distribution and logistics expertise to provide the service, operating seven days a week, 364 days each year.

The service will offer two time-sensitive deliveries each day, other than Sundays when there will be a single delivery.

The company claims consumers will be able to collect online orders within as little as 12 hours of purchasing through Amazon.co.uk.

Smiths News will operate the service from 12 distribution centres across the country, and said it would have up to 1,000 parcel shops operating this autumn.

Jonathan Bunting, managing director connect news and media at Smiths News, said launching the new click and collect service was part of a diversification strategy for his company, and has been developed over the past 12 months.

“We have worked closely with Amazon to create Pass My Parcel, and we are excited about the future potential of this business,” he said.

“We believe that Pass My Parcel will also help our retail customers grow their own business by offering an important new service to the communities they serve.”

Amazon UK said its new same-day collection offering allows customers to order as late as 11.45am for collection from 4pm. Customers are notified via email when their order is available and they can collect their parcel up to 11.59pm, depending on the store closing time.

“This is our fastest pick-up service yet,” said Christopher North, Managing Director of Amazon.co.uk Ltd. “We know that Prime customers love fast delivery and the convenience to pick up their order at a time and place that suits them best. This new service brings together both of those great benefits.”

Parcel shops

Pass My Parcel enters an increasingly crowded UK parcel shop market, with existing parcel shop networks provided by parcel carriers Hermes (myHermes ParcelShop), Yodel (CollectPlus, a joint venture with PayPoint), and UPS (UPS Access Point), as well as independent ventures like Doddle, run by Network Rail.

This summer the UK independent parcel shop business Local Letterbox went out of business prior to starting its service.

Smiths News is the news and media distribution division of the Swindon-based, London-listed Connect Group plc, which was renamed from Smiths News plc in April 2014. The firm has a 200-year history and currently claims a 55% share of the UK newspaper and magazine distribution market, distributing 40m newspapers and 14m magazines each week to 30,000 retailers from 43 distribution centres. It generates £1.8bn in revenue each year, £53m profit.

The company currently has a strategy aim to deliver 50% of its profits from outside of the newspaper and magazine wholesaling business, which currently generates 71% of group operating profit.

Amazon.co.uk now offers more than 6,000 pick-up locations including Pass my Parcel stores, CollectPlus stores and Amazon Lockers. Deliveries made to Amazon Lockers nationally have more than doubled in the last year as customers continue to enjoy the flexibility the service provides, the company said.

“We have recently added Birmingham International Airport and a number of London tube stations to our ever-expanding list of pick-up locations,” said North. “Our intention is to keep rapidly adding to the many thousands of existing pick-up locations to ensure that customers all over the UK are provided with as much choice as possible when it comes to the delivery of their Amazon order.”