European delivery company Hermes Group has reported a turnover of €2.46bn for the financial year end 2015 – up 11% on the previous year. Booming e-commerce was the driver for this bumper year.
Hermes delivery companies moved 580 million shipment, 11% more than the year before. About 74% of this was from retailers outside Hermes Group’s parent company the Otto Group. Third party business expanded by 16% and the company said that it will continue this investment to “further secure its role as a preferred partner for e-commerce retailers”.
“The strategy of internationalisation was anchored early in the Hermes Group and is consistently pursued – and now it’s paying off. We have very successfully evolved from being a leading logistics supplier in the European market to become a global full service provider in e-commerce,“ commented Hanjo Schneider, member of the Otto Group board for Services and chairman of the supervisory board of Hermes Europe.
“We’re happy to be concluding our 12th year in a row with significant growth, as well as outperforming the competition in relevant markets such as Germany and the UK. We want to build on this in 2016. Digital transformation will continue to be the megatrend in our globalised world in the future. This is an exciting opportunity that opens up potentials for growth and clearly shapes our agenda at Hermes.“
Hermes Group also reported growth in the two-man delivery market. The company’s two man teams moved over 4.5 million pieces of furniture and large equipment, up 15% on the year before.
The Hermes statement added: “Despite the increasing competition in delivering to private customers, parcel business within Germany was again very successful in 2015.
“Alongside collaboration with new, large-scale clients from the shipping trade such as Yves Rocher and Glossybox, the company also won more small and medium-sized retailers as customers. The planned extension of the Hermes logistics network – representing an investment of over €300m – was one of the key drivers for this.
“From 2018, 35 predominantly newly designed or expanded logistics centres will provide even greater closeness to customers and shorter delivery times. The first new building is currently being put up in Bad Rappenau, Baden-Württemberg.”
Digital services also saw a lot of progress. The company highlighted some of the collaborative projects it is working on that include the ParcelLock system that it is developing alongside DPD and GLS.
Looking at its UK operations, Hermes commented: “The Hermes parcel division in the UK is the largest privately managed parcel service provider in the sector, and its growth has significantly outpaced the market in 2015.
“The 4,500 Hermes ParcelShops have made a significant contribution in this respect, and since their introduction in 2012 have become established as an alternative delivery address.
“Current investment in technology and infrastructure are helping continuing this expansion.
“Hermes UK is currently investing €23m in new handheld scanners with satellite-supported tracking software, as well as many other exciting projects.”
