Clipper and John Lewis establish ‘ground-breaking’ customer delivery service

Clipper Logistics plc, the Leeds-based provider of logistics solutions to the retail sector, has entered into an agreement with John Lewis establishing a joint venture dedicated to Click & Collect orders.

The joint venture was established after Clipper identified a need for a next-day delivery service into high street stores, and this solution will now be available to customers.

Clipper developed this solution following extensive research by the two partners into the specific needs of retailers in addressing the Click & Collect demands of consumers.

This includes timed delivery to store in a retailer-friendly format, integration with retailers’ customer service systems to provide customer and store updates, text messaging to retailers’ end customers, and delivery into store in roll cages with clear “parent and child” relationships between the cage and the parcel in order to facilitate rapid parcel selection.

The service will be operated by Clipper, with John Lewis providing expertise and insight into the retail market. John Lewis will also be a key customer of the service.

The initial trial commenced in the fourth quarter of 2015, and involved a service for John Lewis’ Click & Collect deliveries into 120 Waitrose stores. Following this trial, the service has recently been expanded to over 300 Waitrose stores, providing nationwide coverage.

This solution will now be extended to other retailers’ stores, and a number of other customers are already using the service.

Under the terms of the Joint Venture agreement, funding will be provided on a 50/50 basis by John Lewis and Clipper, and profits will be shared between the two companies.

The gross assets at 30 April 2016 were £3.4m. The consideration is initially £3.4m in cash, representing the initial funding requirement of the Joint Venture, and a further £500k should the joint venture require it in the first two years.

Steve Parkin, executive chairman of Clipper, said: “This is a truly ground-breaking development which will revolutionise the provision of Click & Collect services to the High Street in Britain.

“We are delighted to have worked closely with our partners, John Lewis, to research and develop this unique service proposition which will address directly the challenges posed to retailers in this rapidly growing area of activity.

“The service is another demonstration of Clipper’s ability to rapidly solve challenges posed to retailers, using our unparalleled understanding of the retail sector.”

Dino Rocos, operations director of John Lewis, added: “Click & Collect continues to be our fastest-growing delivery channel, with deliveries to Waitrose making up the majority of those sales.

“This joint venture will provide a much more tailored service so that Click & Collect orders which reach Waitrose branches are handled in a more efficient way.

“It will enable us to continue to give an outstanding service to our customers, who love this easy and convenient delivery option.”