The GLS ParcelShop has long become an integral part of our business. We see the additional customer traffic every day.
Michael Baumgartner, Managing Director, British Style (first GLS Austria ParcelShop partner)
Carousel with slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate.
20 years of GLS ParcelShops in Austria: From one location to a nationwide network
June 2005. – A small fashion store in Vienna’s 11th district sold authentic British style – and then something more. Between stacks of shirts and the cash register, boxes were passed across the counter and shipping labels printed. A parcel. A smile. An idea.
What began there changed the way people in Austria send their parcels, growing into a network that now stretches from the Bregenzerwald to Lake Neusiedl – from the Bohemian Forest to the Karawanks.
From pioneer project to success story
Shopping for favourite items and sending a parcel at the same time – what started in 2005 at British Style in Vienna was something completely new in Austria. Over the years, this idea has grown into a network of more than 900 ParcelShops across the country.
What began as a simple drop-off point for national and EU parcels has evolved into a comprehensive service: customers can drop off, return or prepare their shipments online with GLS-ONE and hand them in at the shop.
Every location shortens routes, consolidates shipments and eases the delivery process – in cities as well as in rural areas. That’s how the ParcelShop became the place where parcel logistics and everyday life meet.
For those who love numbers
-
Over 900 ParcelShops and 1,200 ParcelBoxes
form a network connecting Austria with Europe. -
Around 135,000 parcels per year
are sent via ParcelShops – and the trend is rising. -
More than 60% of parcels
are prepared online with GLS-ONE and then handed in at a ParcelShop. -
Around 8% of parcels
are collected directly from a ParcelShop – enabling shorter routes, fewer second deliveries. -
Over 900 partner businesses across the country
stand for continuity, trust and personal service.
Why the ParcelShop network also matters for business customers
The GLS ParcelShop network is long established as more than a service for private senders. More and more companies now ship B2X – to business partners as well as private recipients. For them, ParcelShops are an important part of their shipping strategy: they ease pressure on delivery routes, shorten distances and ensure reliable transit times. Returns are just as simple and transparent: recipients drop their parcel at one of more than 900 locations and GLS takes care of the rest.
For business customers, ParcelShops mean less effort, more flexibility, satisfied customers and stable processes – from dispatch to delivery.
Twenty years ago, we started with an idea – today it has become a network of people who make logistics possible every day. Technology helps us simplify processes, but what really matters are the partners who take responsibility and create proximity. That is the strength on which GLS has been building for 20 years.
Christian Schöninger
Managing Director, GLS Austria