CollectPlus full year results for the twelve months ending 31st March 2014

Highlights

London, UK - 29 May 2014: CollectPlus, the UK’s largest store-based parcel delivery and returns service, today announced its first full year of profit (£1.8 million) for the 52 weeks ending 31 March 2014, with record full year revenues of £34.1 million on a volume of 13.6 million parcels. The results were driven by significant volume uplift across all of CollectPlus’ three services; Click & Collect, Send and Returns. 

Year-on-year total revenue growth across the three services was reported at 143% for Send, 77% for Returns and 74% for Click & Collect. With the CollectPlus store network growing by 6% to 5,580 sites during the 2013/14 reporting period, growth was driven by greater adoption of CollectPlus services with more and more people using it to send parcels or when collecting or returning online shopping. CollectPlus’ commercial service performance was enhanced by significant customer wins contributing to a 26% growth in the CollectPlus client base, which is now made up of more than 260 participating retail brands.

Commenting on the results, Neil Ashworth, CEO of CollectPlus, said: “We are extremely proud to achieve such strong growth as we approach our fifth birthday and at a time when the market is maturing and becoming increasingly competitive. Our growth has been driven by more and more people using our services as we become the go-to delivery brand for them when they need to send a parcel or shop online.

“As the market has matured, so too have the needs of our customers and our growth over the last twelve months has been underpinned by our ability to understand and anticipate those needs. A major contributing factor to the appeal of online shopping is the convenience it affords the shopper. Our customers tell us that it is increasingly important for them to have control over the fulfilment and delivery element of their web purchases and, with 63% of shoppers more likely to use a retailer who offers delivery to a convenient collection point, CollectPlus, with its network of parcel stores throughout the UK, is ideally suited to take advantage of this.

“This is an exciting time for us as a business, and over the next twelve months we will be expanding our network by a further 33% - from over 5,500 to 7,500 stores, making us almost two thirds the size of the Post Office. Our longer term aspiration is to achieve 12,000 stores and become a more convenient and accessible alternative to the Post Office in terms of opening hours and locations.

Business review

In the year ending 31 March 2014, CollectPlus continued to grow its market share by adding new products to its Send service, including a ‘Standard’ 48hr Send offering and new larger parcel  dimensions, which have contributed to the 143% total revenue growth of the service. This growth has been further fuelled by integration into marketplace sites such as eBay and Amazon, with research showing that 92% of CollectPlus customers plan to use the Send service again.

Over the last financial year, the CollectPlus store network has expanded in anticipation of consumer demand for convenient delivery and collection points as the company aims to become the UK’s best loved parcel service and a more accessible alternative to the Post Office. These include Collect+@Westfield, which offers shoppers a click-and-collect service at the west London shopping centre and allows them to try on web purchases before they take them home; plus a partnership with Parcel Motel offering an international returns service to give online shoppers in the Republic of Ireland a way to send unwanted items back to UK retailers. 

Good levels of customer satisfaction are at the heart of the CollectPlus offer. Seventy-six per cent of TrustPilot reviews rate the CollectPlus service as five star, whilst the latest research from CollectPlus reveals that 86% of people who have used the service rate its convenience and value for money highly, with 63% using it more now than they did a year ago. 

CollectPlus is a joint venture between PayPoint, the UK’s leading multi-channel payments company, and the UK’s leading parcel delivery company, Yodel.

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact the CollectPlus team at the Red Consultancy:

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 0207 025 6500 

Notes to Editor:

Size of CollectPlus’ network compared to that of the Post Office

In the last Post Office Network report (March 2013), the Post Office network stood at 11,780 outlets (down from 11,818 in 2012). 

CollectPlus’ current network is just over 5,500 outlets, which is just under half the size of the Post Office.

When CollectPlus reached 7,500 stores, this would make its network just under two-thirds (64 per cent) of the Post Office network at its current size.

CollectPlus customer experience research

CollectPlus commissioned Market Measures to research the experience of its customers. 3,700 online interviews were conducted among current and lapsed CollectPlus customers. All interviews were completed between 7th and 17th February 2014.

ABOUT COLLECTPLUS

CollectPlus is the largest store-based delivery and returns service giving online shoppers the ability to collect and drop off parcels at their local store. Founded in 2009, it answers a clear need for a modern alternative to the Post Office that is convenient and easy to use.

The success of the innovative model is reflected in the 260 retail brands that CollectPlus provides returns solutions for, with nearly 100 added over the past year.  Click&Collect+, which enables customers to order online and have their items delivered to their local CollectPlus store, is available from a rising number of retailers; from Amazon to Asda and House of Fraser to River Island. This complements the returns offer that CollectPlus provides to retailers, thereby offering a complete delivery and returns service.

With a network of over 5,500 stores open early ‘til late seven days a week; 90% of the UK population already live within a mile of a CollectPlus shop in urban areas and 89% within five miles in rural areas. The store network has grown by over a quarter in the last 12 months and continues to expand. 

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