Hermes Group gears up for Christmas push
The Hermes Group has announced that it is expecting to post a significant increase in volumes across Europe in the lead up to Christmas. In a statement issued today (26 November), Hermes said that its companies in Austria, the UK, Russia and Italy are “positioned to cope with an average rise of 25% in the number of parcels to be transported”.
“In preparation for this deluge of parcels,” said Hermes, “many locations are currently expanding delivery capacity.
“The peak forecast for Hermes UK is particularly impressive with parcel volumes expected to be up 32% compared to non-peak. This could lead to an increase of 20% compared to last year’s peak.”
Marc Dessing, COO of Hermes Europe GmbH, commented: “We are delighted with the positive development of the ongoing peak business. It highlights the general encouraging performance of our European parcel units during this current financial year.
“In 2015, we successfully pushed ahead with our strategy of international expansion in key growth markets. On top of traditional home deliveries, this has mainly included our flourishing network of parcel shops that has now become the largest 2C network in Europe, with currently over 37,000 shops.
“For many customers, the Hermes ParcelShop has established itself as the preferred alternative delivery address – and not just in the Christmas business.”
In Germany alone, Hermes said that it is “reckoning with around 36 million parcels by the end of the year, a plus of 15% on its record-breaking year of 2014”.
The company said that 5,400 more workers and 3,300 more vehicles have been deployed to handle the extra volume.
Hermes added: “In Austria, there is also a strong sense of anticipation, with parcel volumes already up 15% in this pre-Christmas period. Upon request, Hermes is also now offering a Saturday delivery service for the first time and is now on the road six days a week for its Austrian customers.”
With the predicted 32% increase in UK parcel volumes, Hermes said its central Warrington hub “will be processing 500,000 more parcels each and every day”.
“A particular challenge is ‘Black Friday’ on 27 November – an American tradition and a highly popular shopping day, with many retailers advertising special offers and discounts,” commented Hermes. “At this time, Hermes UK is anticipating a 100% increase in order and transport volumes. Human and vehicle resources have been correspondingly adjusted to meet such needs.”
The company concluded its statement with an interesting update: “Hermes UK also has something else to look forward to: in December it is expecting to open its 4,500th Hermes ParcelShop in the country.”
