Seeking to expand package delivery options in the European e-commerce world, Deutsche Post DHL is acquiring a 27.5 percent stake in French e-commerce logistics specialist, Relais Colis.
With Relais Colis, customers purchasing small e-commerce parcels can have them sent at low cost to a designated “pickup point” – often a kiosk or retail store – closest to the customers’ home. They can also return to any one of the pickup points in the Relais Colis network to make product returns.
The investment in the network is expected to allow DHL’s divisions, primarily DHL Parcel, to expand its offerings for e-commerce customers in the French market. Relais Colis will also benefit from the additional volume of DHL Group’s networks and DHL’s know-how in the German parcel market.
Relais Colis is currently a partner to a number of top-tier e-commerce players, thanks to its range of pickup-point services, including home deliveries for larger packages. The service currently employs about 450 people, with a network of three national hubs, 22 branches and 4,800 pickup points conveniently located close to end consumers. A former subsidiary of Kering (PPR), Relais Colis provides almost 30 million deliveries each year.