Willebroek – March 2026
Colis Privé BeLux proudly celebrates a major achievement: our 500th Colis Privé Store, bringing us to 900 active Out‑of‑Home (OOH) locations supporting both direct and missed deliveries. This milestone reflects the rapid expansion of our OOH network, designed to make parcel collection more convenient, flexible, and accessible for customers across Belgium and Luxembourg. With the network evolving fast, we remain on track to reach 1,200 combined pickup and locker points, strengthening our position as a last‑mile leader with robust home‑delivery and out‑of‑home solutions. This growth is a key part of our ambition to reshape the last mile—delivering speed, service excellence, and sustainability. Our OOH network plays a central role here, supported by strong operational performance and late operating windows that allow efficient 24h parcel delivery throughout Belgium and Luxembourg.
📍To explore this momentum in greater depth, we first spoke with our OOH Manager, who shared valuable insights into the network’s growth, the role of strong local partnerships, and the future of Out‑of‑Home delivery.
➡️ Introducing our Out‑of‑Home (OOH) Manager, Kam Tom Lai
To better understand the development of our Out‑of‑Home network and the growing importance of pickup points in the BeLux region, we spoke with Kam Tom Lai, our OOH Manager. In this role, he works closely with our PUDO partners and helps shape the strategic vision for our expanding network. In this interview, he shares insights into the evolution of our pickup‑point strategy, the collaboration with local merchants, and what lies ahead for Colis Privé’s OOH services.
Why work for Colis Privé?
« I joined Colis Privé in 2022, when the company was still a new player in last‑mile delivery in Belgium. What immediately appealed to me was the opportunity to help build the foundations of a growing company and truly have an impact. This growth also gave me the chance to lead an important project: developing the pickup‑point network in Belgium and Luxembourg. For us, this network is not just a simple add‑on to home delivery, but a strategic choice to offer customers more flexibility and convenience. They can already select a pickup point when placing their order and often retrieve their parcel sooner. »
How do you experience contact with the pickup points?
« Our contact with pickup points makes our job extremely diverse and engaging. These are local shop owners, many of whom face challenges due to the strong growth of e‑commerce. By offering our service in their stores, we help bring more people back into traditional retail spaces. To us, pickup points are true partners. Their feedback helps us continuously improve our service and build a high‑performance out‑of‑home network. Ultimately, it’s a win‑win‑win situation: more convenience for the customer, more visitors for the retailer, a more efficient network for Colis Privé, and fewer transport movements — which benefits the planet. »
Where is Colis Privé heading with the pickup‑point network?
« At Colis Privé, our goal is to build a strong and accessible pickup‑point network. We aim for around 1,200 Out‑of‑Home locations, ensuring that customers in major cities can find a Colis Privé Store within walking distance, and those in more rural areas can reach one with only a short drive. Our focus is on a high‑performance, reliable, and accessible network. This way, we bring additional traffic to local retailers, offer customers more flexibility and convenience, and give webshops more and faster delivery options. Ultimately, we are building a network that creates value for all parties involved. »
📍We also sat down with a Colis Privé Store owner, offering a look into daily operations from behind the counter — how the OOH flow shapes their business and how they view the evolution of pickup‑point delivery across Belgium.
➡️ Introducing our Colis Privé Store owner, Erwin Mertens
We meet Erwin Mertens, a long‑standing retailer with decades of experience, who shares how becoming a pickup point has impacted his business, what the collaboration means in practice, and how he sees the future of OOH services in retail.“Becoming a pickup point brings people back into the store.” For Erwin, the choice to become a Colis Privé pickup point was a strategic one:
“Becoming a pickup point generates a lot of traffic. People come in to collect a parcel, and once they are in the store, many discover our other products as well. It’s not only about providing a service—it’s about visibility. They get to know the shop. I’ve been in the business since 1989. We started as a photo shop and evolved into a multimedia store. Digital cameras changed everything — it was a difficult period — but everyone has to adapt eventually, and we did.”
Erwin also highlights the added value of working with Colis Privé :
“Online shopping is easy and fast. Colis Privé is a company with many customers—important ones in the digital world—meaning a steady flow of parcels arrives here. As a retail business, it’s essential for us to stay aligned with that evolution. That’s where the future is. «
Would he recommend Colis Privé to other retailers? “Absolutely.”
Erwin doesn’t hesitate:
“Retail today is looking for customers, and this is a great way to attract them. It’s important to create as much traffic as possible in the shop.”
For him, integrating parcel services into the store is a clear win‑win, it keeps the retail spaces dynamic and relevant. Daily collaboration: “Smooth, simple, and effective.” The operational experience has been particularly positive:
“The collaboration with Colis Privé runs very smoothly. No problems at all. The system to scan and hand out parcels is simple — after fifteen minutes of explanation, anyone can use it. »
A structured approach to parcel handling also contributes to efficiency:
“We sort parcels by the last numbers so we can easily find them. That works perfectly for us.”
A store with history — and constant reinvention
Erwin shared a look back at his entrepreneurial journey:
“I graduated as a photographer and started in 1989 in a smaller location with photographic products and mini‑labs. Then we moved from analogue to digital. In 1994–95 we jumped immediately into GSM phones — basic devices back then — and kept evolving. Later came PCs, laptops… and today we focus a lot on services.”
He notes how the business model has shifted:
“In the past, you sold a product and service was free. Today products are sold at internet‑level prices with low margins, so you have to earn on the service you provide. That’s the big difference.”
As our network continues to grow and evolve, one thing remains clear: the success of Colis Privé’s Out‑of‑Home delivery model is built on strong partnerships — with our dedicated OOH teams, passionate retailers like Erwin Mertens, and the customers who rely on us every day. Together, we are shaping a more flexible, accessible and sustainable delivery experience across Belgium & Luxembourg. And as we move toward 1,200 OOH locations, we look forward to deepening these connections and continuing to deliver value, innovation and convenience at every doorstep — and every pickup point.
