Evri celebrates 50 years and looks back on Bradford origins

Leeds-based Evri, the UK's largest dedicated parcel delivery company, began life as Grattan Mail Order in Bradford in 1974 with just seven couriers.

Evri began life as Grattan in Bradford (Image: Supplied)

The families of directors would pack and deliver parcels to customers.

By the early 1990s, the company was delivering parcels two to three days per week across 60 per cent of the UK, with a fleet of 1,000 couriers.

Today, with over 20,000 couriers and 8,000 employees, Evri, formerly known as Hermes, dispatches more than 730 million parcels yearly to over 220 global destinations.

Martijn De Lange, CEO of Evri (Image: Supplied)

This week, it emerged that Evri is planning to hire 9,000 more staff as it prepares to deliver more parcels after agreeing to be bought by new owners in a deal worth £2.7 billion.

Scotland, Bury St Edmunds, Plymouth and Gatwick have been selected as key areas for hiring in a bid to meet swelling demand for deliveries.

Evri attributes part of its recent success to the boom in online shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Debbie Sharkey, who has worked as a customer service advisor at Evri and its forerunner for 35 years, said: "Originally, I worked on the phones taking orders for purchases from the Grattan catalogue.

Evri observed an increase in online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic (Image: Supplied)

"The biggest change I’ve seen over my time is the shift to homeworking during the pandemic."

Debbie also recognises the change in technology, as she went on to say: “Technology’s impact is undeniable, I can with hazy memories recall green writing on computers and records being on microfiche, a really old method of storing data, the ability to have so much data at my fingertips now is much more efficient for the customer experience.

"The one thing that has been a constant is my headset though, albeit it’s much more modern now.”

A report reflecting on the changing nature of retail and ecommerce over the last five decades will be issued next week by Evri.

Martijn De Lange, CEO of Evri, said: “In our 50 years we’ve witnessed mail order evolve to introduce the first-ever telephone ordering service, a shift from printed publications to online ordering and the introduction of next day deliveries.  As we look back in fondness at the past half century, we are also focussed on delivering for our customers and clients in the UK and overseas now and over the next 50 years and more.

“People are still feeling cost-of-living pressures, high levels of inflation and higher interest rates, although stabilising, have all exerted pressure on disposable income and spending power. However, the phenomenon of home shopping continues to grow and evolve, and we have been quick to respond to this as the fastest-growing parcel delivery service.”