NewRiver partners with Royal Mail to launch parcel lockers across its portfolio

• NewRiver announced as the first company to partner with Royal Mail on the rollout of its new parcel locker network
• More than 60 shopping centres and retail parks across the UK owned or managed by NewRiver will host a locker within six months with initial lockers launched in Grays and Witham
• Partnership will provide a new and convenient service for local shoppers and help drive additional footfall and customer spend

NewRiver has been announced as the first company to partner with Royal Mail on the roll out of its new parcel locker network across NewRiver’s portfolio of shopping centres and retail parks.

Parcel lockers will be rolled out across more than 60 of NewRiver’s shopping centres and retail parks, including assets owned by NewRiver and assets managed on behalf of third party owners through its capital partnership business, allowing NewRiver to leverage its scale and market-leading platform.

The roll out has launched at two shopping centres owned by NewRiver in Essex – Grays Shopping Centre in Grays and Newlands Shopping Centre in Witham – and is expected to continue over the next six months.

Royal Mail is the largest parcel delivery company in the UK, and combining with NewRiver’s expansive and geographically diverse portfolio which totals 8.2 million sq ft supports Royal Mail’s ambition to roll out this exciting new concept at scale and speed. NewRiver will receive a modest income from the new partnership, and the new Royal Mail lockers will provide a convenient and complementary service for NewRiver shoppers as well as helping drive additional footfall and customer spend for retailers.

Allan Lockhart, CEO of NewRiver, commented: “We are delighted to be the first company to partner with Royal Mail to roll out its new parcel locker network, leveraging the scale and size of our expansive portfolio. The Royal Mail lockers are a great fit for our portfolio of UK wide retail assets which sit in the heart of their local communities, providing a convenient service for our shoppers and creating additional footfall and customer spend at our assets whilst supporting Royal Mail’s expansion of this new concept.

We know from our portfolio data that omni-channel retail operators are outperforming online-only operators, and providing this additional service for our shoppers ensures that our assets help fulfil the needs for both our shoppers and our retailers, providing complementary services and helping to support the growth of thriving communities.”

Anna Malley, Director of Out of Home at Royal Mail, commented: “Our customers are sending and receiving more and more parcels, and our mission is to make it as convenient as possible by giving them choices that suit them. NewRiver’s shopping centres and retail parks are exactly the kind of busy locations that many of our customers will already be visiting, making it easy for them to fit in dropping off their parcels whilst they are there. The lockers are simple to use with best-in-class technology that can print postage labels, which is really important for many people.”