DHL buys MyFlexbox, lifts 2030 locker target to 50,000
What's the deal? Deutsche Post DHL GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired MyFlexbox, a Salzburg-based parcel locker operator, from British investor Star CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The purchase price was not disclosed. MyFlexbox runs about 2,000 lockers in Germany and 1,000 in Austria, and is the largest carrier-independent locker operator, with roughly 100 staff.
What's the endgame? DHL wants MyFlexbox to reach 25,000 lockers in Germany by 2030 — about seven times its current footprint. The deal runs through DHL subsidiary AZL GmbHDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which operates around 1,700 lockers under the DeinFachDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → brand. DeinFach and MyFlexbox will merge, with DeinFach units gradually relabelled as MyFlexbox.
Why now? Online shopping keeps pushing parcel volumes higher, and doorstep delivery is the most time-consuming step for carriers. Lockers let couriers drop off and collect many parcels in one stop, saving time.
MyFlexbox is carrier-neutral: its lockers accept shipments from GLSDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, DPDDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, UPSDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, FedExDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Amazon. DHL's own machines are not — its roughly 16,000 Packstations and 1,400 Poststations hold DHL shipments only. Once Salzburg's municipal utility, MyFlexbox was sold to Star Capital some years ago.
The signal: The deal sharply raises DHL's ambitions. The logistics group now targets about 50,000 lockers by the end of 2030 — up from the more than 30,000 planned before the acquisition. Rivals remain far behind: GLS and DPD said in March they aim to offer up to 6,000 lockers together in Germany by the end of 2027, while Hermes runs only about 30, all around Hamburg.
Read more: zeit.de
Image credit: Stephen Craven
