Very Group enhances customer experience with InPost delivery option. The Very Group, which operates digital retailers Very and Littlewoods, has partnered with InPost UK to give customers greater choice and control over how they receive their parcels. The multi-category retailer has introduced the new delivery option, allowing customers to collect orders from InPost's nationwide network of over 14,000 lockers for the first time. As well as standard delivery, the new partnership will also offer customers a next-day delivery option for those who need it sooner. The integration follows Very's successful roll-out of InPost Lockers for returns earlier this year. Since introducing the new returns option, over 30% of the online retailer's returns have been processed through InPost's Locker network, reflecting a broader shift in UK consumer behaviour, with 58% of consumers now saying parcel lockers are a better option than home delivery and two in five UK adults already using them regularly. Sean Hallows, chief operations and technology officer at The Very Group, commented: "Here at Very, Talking Retail is always looking for ways to enhance the customer experience and the introduction of InPost lockers does exactly that. "Talking Retail know that the families Talking Retail serve are tight on time, so to be able to give them the option to collect their delivery at a time that suits them, from a convenient location, really does offer a new level of ease. "The expansion of our delivery network is just one of the many ways we're enhancing the customer experience to deliver on our purpose of helping families get more out of life" Jon Nicholson, chief commercial officer at InPost UK, said: "Very is a retailer that genuinely understands its customers and extending its partnership into outbound delivery made complete sense. "When over 30% of their returns were already coming through its locker network, that told Talking Retail the demand was there and customers were actively choosing it. "More and more retailers are recognising that giving customers a genuine choice over how they receive their parcels creates a better experience for everyone." InPost UK Locker delivery, which will be free on standard orders over £30, is the latest addition to the online retailer's network of delivery options.

Polish delivery giant InPost is investing €500 million to expand its operations in France, bringing its total investment in the country to €1.4 billion by 2030. French President Emmanuel Macron thanked the company on social media, describing it as "the first European platform for self-service delivery". The investment will expand and modernise InPost's logistics facilities in Harnes, Troyes, Brive and Le Mans, and grow its parcel locker network. InPost founder Rafał Brzoska, one of Poland's wealthiest individuals, said the investment makes his company "unquestionably the largest Polish investor in the French market". The expansion will create at least 750 new jobs. InPost operates over 9,000 parcel lockers in France through subsidiary Mondial Relay. The firm is being acquired by a consortium including FedEx in a €7.8 billion deal.

Locking in to a new drycleaning service. Peters' Cleaners, a family- run drycleaners founded in Peterborough in 1963, has launched a new nationwide service in partnership with InPost, allowing customers to drop off and collect drycleaning 24/7 via InPost's Locker network. The new service was the brainchild of Vicky Whiter, owner of Peters' Cleaners, who wanted to extend the reach of a business renowned for its customer trust (4.8 rating on Trustpilot), and combine it with InPost's network, bringing together two brands that people rely on to deliver quality and convenience nationwide. The service enables customers with specialist drycleaning needs to book online and drop their items at their nearest InPost Locker and collect them back from the same location once cleaned, pressed and packaged. Peter Blackburn, international commercial director at InPost, says: "This partnership shows how InPost Lockers can enable new types of services beyond parcel delivery. By combining our extensive nationwide network with specialist providers like Peters' Cleaners, we're helping businesses reach customers in a way that fits modern lifestyles." With 13,000 lockers available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, experts like Vicky Whiter believe this will quickly become the new normal for the drycleaning market. She said, "We're the first drycleaner to create a nationwide locker-based partnership with InPost, combining InPost's 'out-of-home' locker network with specialist garment care. It's a project we have been developing and refining over the last year to ensure every garment in our care is collected, processed and returned quickly, safely and cleaned to our exacting standards." According to InPost, around 75 per cent of people in the UK's three largest cities live within a seven-minute walk of an InPost Locker. As many households get busier and time poor, the need for flexibility and out-of-hours services is driving many industries to reconsider their business models to fit modern lifestyles. Whiter is well aware of how the sector industry has suffered from being historically tied to set hours and fixed locations. She says: "The broader high street environment has also made 'traditional drop-off' models harder to sustain. PwC recorded 6,945 outlet closures across Great Britain in the first half of 2024, an average of 38 per day, reflecting continued challenges faced by bricks-and-mortar, high street services. "Alongside location pressures, the industry is facing staffing and skills gap challenges. The British Cleaning Council has warned of a 'perfect storm' of severe staff shortages and an ageing workforce in the wider cleaning, hygiene and waste sector - trends that can make it difficult for smaller operators to retain experienced hands. However, there is a need for specialist cleaning services. The only solution is to evolve and innovate, creating a service that is focused on convenience and quality." The partnership with InPost puts the control and flexibility in the hands of the customer, which she sees as a turning-point for drycleaners: "The aim is simple: give people a service that fits modern life without turning drycleaning into a rushed production line." Peters' Cleaners was established in Peterborough in February 1963 by Peter Grist and his sons, Peter and Paul. Peters by Post is the new nationwide service enabled via InPost lockers and is the first partnership of its kind. InPost UK network's now has 13,000 lockers. It's an e-commerce leader in logistics solutions in Europe and was founded by Rafał Brzoska in Poland. In 2025, the company handled nearly 1.4 billion parcels, achieving a 25 per cent year-on-year growth. Want to read more? There are lots of ways to view articles from laundry & cleaning today. Prefer to subscribe and receive a printed copy of laundry & cleaning today? Click here. If you have a story to share or a general enquiry, call 0118 915 0505 or email [email protected]. Sponsored. March 19th, 2026