Halfords join forces with DPD for parcel shop network

Automotive, cycling and leisure retailer Halfords is set to join forces with the UK’s favourite parcel delivery company DPD, as part of the new DPD PickUp parcel shop network launching in June.

Halfords, which has over 460 stores nationwide, will join the Rowlands and Numark Pharmacy chains already signed-up under DPD’s plans announced in January. Further retail partners are likely to be announced in the coming weeks as DPD builds a network of 2,500 parcel shops located at retail outlets that are within ten minute of most people in the UK.

DPD PickUp aims to transform collect and return by truly integrating it into the purchasing and delivery processes and offering customers a greatly improved service experience. From June, DPD PickUp locations will be available as an alternative to home delivery, giving consumers even more choice and flexibility.

In addition, DPD PickUp will be one of the ‘in-flight’ options available in DPD’s text and email notifications, which are sent ahead of a scheduled home delivery. So if customers aren’t going to be at home they can divert their delivery to a DPD PickUp point for collection at a time that suits them.

DPD’s CEO Dwain McDonald commented: “Halfords is a fantastic addition to our new network and I am delighted to welcome them on board. They are a trusted High Street brand with a great reputation for customer service and helping people. Their stores are in prominent locations with customer parking which is ideal for people wanting to pick up parcels.

“Our aim is to offer a collect and return service with a difference. We’re looking to give DPD PickUp customers an outstanding service experience – from the communication at purchase about their delivery options, right through to the PickUp shop environment and the welcome they receive there – which means working with high quality retailers like Halfords who share our customer service ethos.”


Katrina Jamieson Director of Digital for Halfords commented: “Halfords prides itself on helping customers with their ‘life on the move’, therefore working with DPD to give busy consumers another parcel delivery option is a really good fit for us. Like DPD, we put the customer at the centre of everything we do. DPD’s technology is second to none and as a result, they already have a very smart proposition. We’re confident that our branches and our people will complement that and give their customers a really viable, joined-up alternative to a home delivery.”

DPD is the fastest growing major parcel delivery company in the UK and has created over 2,000 new jobs in the last two years as a result of an unprecedented UK expansion. In that period, the company has opened 18 new or replacement depots, including nine state-of-the-art, purpose built facilities. Meanwhile, construction of DPD’s new ?100m parcel hub at Hinckley in the East Midlands is now complete. The facility, which will be the largest of its kind in Europe, is on schedule to open in 2015, creating another 1,000 permanent full-time jobs.