- The DHL mobile pop-ups offer customers a safe, convenient, and practical shipping experience
- Winnipeg, MB location is the latest pop-up location to open, providing an added point of accessibility for residents
DHL, the world’s leading global express and logistics company, is expanding its vast network of Canadian retail locations by opening first-of-its-kind mobile retail stores in Canada. The company has invested more than $430,000 CDN to create four, electric-powered mobile pop-up locations, called DHL pop-up stores, to provide a safe and easy-to-use shipping option for customers and an added point of accessibility. The DHL mobile pop-up store location at the Grant Park Shopping Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba opened this week and is the latest location available for customers.
“We’ve seen tremendous growth in the industry over the past few years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with customers shipping internationally more than ever before,” said Andrew Williams, CEO for DHL Express Canada. “This increased demand is the reason we’re expanding our footprint in Canada with new, strategically placed, safe and easy-to-use pop-up locations to better service our customers here.”
Within the last six months, DHL Express has experienced a 41 per cent growth rate in Winnipeg. The company selects the locations for its new mobile pop-up stores throughout the country based on areas where DHL doesn’t currently have an owned or partner location, but where there is an increased demand for international shipping. DHL Express expects this new Winnipeg location will generate additional volume for its United States, China and Philippines trade lanes, and will be open for customers seven days a week at varied hours.
The first-ever, 2,200 cubic feet Canadian mobile pop-up store opened in Toronto, Ontario at the Cadillac Fairview Mall earlier this month. It was the first unit permitted in Canada, and was a critical first step in the launch of the retail pop-up concept in one of the largest target markets for DHL. This location allows the company to serve three large markets, as it experienced a retail volume growth of 35 per cent in 2020 vs 2019, and expect those numbers to continue rising ahead of the holiday season.
Both locations will be open and available to customers over the next six months, at which point the company will evaluate based on customer demand whether to extend.
“We’re excited to bring the innovative pop-up store experience to customers in Canada, after seeing tremendous success from testing and launching in several U.S. cities,” added Williams. “Customers prefer the speed and convenience of pop-up stores to quickly create and send shipments – all without having to enter a physical store or office.”
DHL will continue expanding in the Canadian market with an additional two pop-up locations between October 2021 and March 2022. All mobile, 2,200 cubic-feet pop-up stores will be electric-powered.
In response to social-distancing concerns, the mobile pop-up store locations allow customers to easily access DHL’s shipping services, without having to enter a store. The pop-up locations offer customers a safe and practical way to utilize these DHL services and products, featuring everything a traditional DHL storefront would have, including the ability to process shipments, account holder drop offs and the option of accepting smaller Hold for Pickup shipments. An efficient point-of-sale system is capable of processing shipments to U.S. destinations as well as any of the 220 countries and territories DHL serves. Supplies such as bubble wrap, packing tape, and DHL-branded boxes are available at the mobile unit. Additionally, the DHL pop-up stores mitigate congestion and potential security risks at retail locations.
