LONDON, November 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Over four thousand outlets partnered with Collect Plus

The courier service grows to one third of the Post Office

Click and Collect Plus a primary objective for the New Year

Courier service Collect Plus have announced significant increases in the amount of packages they handle on an annual basis, which have increased two fold to approximately four million.

The advance in volume comes as a result of vastly increased demand from businesses such as ASOS and Littlewoods for their offering, and has reinforced their enviable position as a strong alternative to the Post Office.

Over the last half of the year, Collect Plus has scaled its operations to an increase of 20%, growing to 1/3 of the size of the Post Office. The service is available within the Paypoint network, with partnering outlets open all week and for opening periods extending beyond normal shopping times.

Mark Lewis, CEO of CollectPlus, says of the results:

"The last six months have been impressively strong for CollectPlus as more retailers and shoppers realise the convenience of our service.  We are delighted to have over 100 retail brands taking advantage of our returns service and, as we move into 2012, our next area of focus will be to further develop our Click & CollectPlus service, which allows consumers to pick up goods bought online from their local CollectPlus shop. Recent research shows that two thirds of online shoppers are attracted to this concept and we expect it to be a key area of growth for us as it continues revolutionise how we all shop online."

These figures have been influenced by the courier's expanding roster of partners, which has included several key retail brands such as:

• ASOS
• Clarks
• Currys

Over the last few months, several other household names have joined the list of expanding business partnering with the service, including:

• Argos
• Asda and George at Asda
• Fred Perry

The total amount of retailers using Collect Plus now stands at over one hundred and continue to work harmoniously with brands within Shop Direct Group - processing a significant amount of the packages coming through brands such as Littlewoods and Very.

Online auction giant Ebay is also due to begin offering its users the ability to print package labels, and Collect Plus will be one of the courier services partnering with the site. This will undoubtedly reinforce the healthy relationship Collect Plus also has with smaller business and e-pportunists using their service.

Mark Lewis continues:

"Unlike many other parcel companies, our starting point was ease and convenience for the online and mail order shopper. We've worked hard to build a service that suits their needs by creating a large network of local shops that are open at times that fit with the busy lives of consumers. That convenience is why so many retailers are coming to us and why we're experiencing the level of growth we're seeing."

This year CollectPlus has received recognition from within the industry, having recently been named 'Third Party Logistics Supplier' of the year at the Retail Week Supply Chain Awards; 'Innovative Delivery Service' at IMRG's eCommerce Excellence Awards; and has been Highly Commended for 'Supply Chain Solution of the Year' by Retail Systems.

About CollectPlus

CollectPlus is a delivery and returns service giving online shoppers greater freedom and flexibility with the choice of collecting and dropping off parcels at local convenience stores.

With 98% of CollectPlus outlets open seven days a week and, normally, early in the morning until late at night, the service offers online shoppers the option to pick up or drop off purchases at a time and place convenient to them. 82% of the UK population lives within a mile of a CollectPlus store in urban areas, and 83% within five miles in rural areas.

CollectPlus is a joint venture between PayPoint, the leading retail payment network, and the UK leading parcel delivery company Yodel.

About PayPoint

PayPoint is a leading international provider of convenient payments and value added services to major consumer service organisations in the utility, housing, water, telecoms, media, financial services, transport, retail, e-commerce, gaming and public sectors.

PayPoint delivers payments and services through a uniquely strong combination of local shops, internet and mobile distribution channels and handles over £11 billion from 600 million transactions annually for more than 5,000 clients and merchants.  

Retail networks

The PayPoint branded retail network in the UK numbers 23,000 local shops (including Co-op, Spar, McColls, Costcutter, Sainsbury's Local, One Stop, Londis and thousands of independents). CollectPlus, a joint venture with Yodel, provides a parcel collection and drop off service at more than 4,500 PayPoint retailers. Its ATM network numbers more than 2,500 'LINK' branded machines across the UK, mainly in the same sites as PayPoint terminals.

In Romania, the branded retail network numbers over 6,000 terminals located in local shops, processing cash bill payments for utilities and mobile phone top-ups. In Ireland, over 500 outlets in shops and credit unions process mobile top-ups and bill payments.

Internet

PayPoint.net is an internet payment service provider linking into all major UK acquiring banks to deliver secure online credit and debit card payments for over 5,500 web merchants. It offers a comprehensive set of products ranging from a transaction gateway through to a bureau service and FraudGuard, an advanced service to mitigate the risk of fraud.

PayByPhone

PayByPhone is a leading international provider of services to parking authorities allowing consumers to use their mobile phones to pay for their parking by credit or debit card. It has contracts in the UK, France, Canada and the USA.

PayPoint is widely recognised for its leadership in prepayment systems, smart technology and consumer service.

About Yodel

Yodel Notes to Editors

• Home Delivery Network Ltd on 1 March 2010 purchased through its subsidiary company, Parcelpoint Ltd, the domestic B2B and B2C businesses of DHL Express (UK) Ltd and rebranded as Yodel in May 2010
• Yodel delivers more than 200 million parcels per year with annual revenues of £650 million
• It is the second-largest parcel delivery business in the UK after the Royal Mail
• Yodel operates from a national network of sort and service centres and has a fleet of over 5,000 vans
• The company is headquartered in Hatfield.

For more information or to speak to Mark Lewis of CollectPlus please contact the CollectPlus Press Office on:
T: +44(0)207-025-6500
E: collectplusteam@redconsultancy.com

SOURCE CollectPlus