The Yodel brand is to disappear from the UK parcels market as owner InPost prepares to rebrand the carrier in a move aimed at expanding consumer delivery options and accelerating locker-based parcel services.
The Polish company, which acquired Yodel in 2024, plans to replace the Yodel name with the InPost brand this year as part of a broader strategy to reshape last-mile delivery in the UK e-commerce market, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
InPost said the move is part of a push to give online shoppers greater flexibility over how parcels are delivered. The company is also planning to introduce a service guarantee that parcels will arrive at lockers within 48 hours of being ordered.
According to InPost, the average UK consumer receives around six parcels a month, while about 40% of shoppers experience at least one missed delivery.
InPost’s model focuses on automated parcel lockers rather than home delivery. The company operates nearly 14,000 lockers across the UK.
Locker networks are increasingly attractive to logistics operators because they reduce failed deliveries, cut driver mileage and improve route density in urban areas.
Michael Rouse, chief executive of InPost’s international arm, said the UK market lacked customer choice in delivery compared with other European countries.
“The UK has the most sophisticated e-commerce market in Europe, but the least sophisticated customer choice for delivery,” he said.
Yodel has been dogged with poor customer ratings since its launch in 2010, following the merger of Home Delivery Network and the UK domestic division of DHL.
The business was owned for more than a decade by the Barclay family. In early 2024 the company was reported to be close to administration before being rescued through a sale to YDLGP, a consortium which included 29-year-old entrepreneur Jacob Corlett, founder of Shift, the tech-based delivery firm which bought Tuffnells in June 2023. Control later passed to InPost through a debt-for-equity swap as part of a restructuring.
The rebranding also comes amid continued consolidation in the European parcels market. InPost has expanded rapidly through acquisitions, including adding UK logistics operator Menzies Distribution to its group.
Separately, private equity firm Advent International and FedEx recently agreed a deal to acquire a majority stake in InPost, valuing the company at about €7.8bn.
Carol Millett is an award-winning freelance journalist with over 30 years’ of experience writing across a broad range of sectors, including road transport, construction and civil engineering, project management, private finance, technology, HR, and travel and tourism.View full Profile
