CollectPlus: “The door is open for more carriers”
Speaking to Post&Parcel, CollectPlus CEO Neil Ashworth said that “the door is open” for carriers to work with the company’s UK-wide network of 6,000+ parcel stores. CollectPlus was set up in 2009 as joint venture between the parcel carrier Yodel and the retail payment network PayPoint. In December, the two partners hammered out a new arrangement which will transform the business: PayPoint is now free to sign agreements with other parcel carriers, offering them access to the CollectPlus network under licence.
What this means is that CollectPlus is now the UK’s biggest carrier- and retailer-agnostic parcel store network.
Ashworth told Post&Parcel that CollectPlus already has the technology to enable this integration with other carriers – and now negotiations are underway to bring them onboard.
“We can’t name names yet, but we are in conversations with other partners,” said Ashworth. “We would hope to be in a position to make an announcement later this year.”
And while it is looking to forge these new partnerships, CollectPlus is also continuing to grow and develop the network that underpins its business.
The broad figure of 6,000+ tells only part of the story; the network also has to be measured on its breadth and density.
Ashworth told us that 91% of the UK’s urban population live within one mile of a CollectPlus parcel store, while almost 90% of the rural population are within five miles of a parcel store.
But, added Ashworth, CollectPlus also recognizes the importance of having sufficient parcel stores in those regions of the UK where the population is relatively sparse – even though they won’t contribute so much to those impressive coverage figures – in order to justify its billing as a national service.
“We cover every part of the UK and it is a one-price service. We don’t charge a premium for different regions,” emphasized Ashworth.
Furthermore, said Ashworth, CollectPlus is keenly aware of how the UK retail landscape has been changing over the past decade.
“There will be parts of the UK where retailers will be closing down shops because they are not economically viable. In places like these, online shopping and CollectPlus parcel stores can be a life-line.”
