The French company Relais Colis, a historic network of relay and home delivery services, currently delivers more than 50 million parcels per year.

With this transaction, Walden would strengthen its Premium Express Delivery business (operated through Ciblex, DPXS, Eco Courses Optic, Sopharty) dedicated to last mile solutions in Europe, in order to open new distribution channels to its customers. This acquisition would be fully in line with the Walden Group’s strategy to complete its express transport offer by investing in the responsible B2C sector.
Relais Colis is today a key brand in the world of distance selling and e-commerce with 3 million consumers delivered every month. A preferred partner of major e-commerce players, including La Redoute, Cdiscount, Amazon and Vinted, Relais Colis has nearly 500 employees.

About Relais Colis
The inventor of the local delivery concept in 1983, Relais Colis is the leading network for home delivery. With more than a year’s experience, Relais Colis is the partner of many e-commerce players. Relais Colis offers a complete range of increasingly innovative solutions combining delivery in local points, delivery between individuals and home delivery for heavier parcels and olmines. The Relai Colis network has developed new connection solutions and efficient and effective traceability tools, In Relais Colis more than 50 million parcels are delivered to consumers each year, including 2 million to their homes, an integrated network of 4 national hubs, 25 regional agencies and 6,300 local retailers in mainland France.

About New R
New R is the holding company created by the takeover of La Redoute and Relais Colis by its directors, Nathalie Balla and Eric Courteille, in 2014. It holds 49% of La Redoute, in partnership with the Galeries Lafayette group, and 100% of Relais Colis.

About Walden Group
Founded in 1951 in France, the Walden Group is a family-owned company whose ambition is to become a global player in supply chain and healthcare logistics. The group’s activities are managed by 5 companies: Ciblex, for express transport, Movianto, for healthcare logistics, Eurotranspharma and Transpharma International for pharmaceutical transport and Pharma Pilot for IT solutions. The Walden Group has grown rapidly with the recent acquisition of Movianto in June 2020. Present in 16 countries (France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Switzerland, Morocco, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), the group employs more than 6,000 people on 180 sites and more than 800,000 m of floor space.

Stéphane Baudry, Chairman of the Walden Group, commented: “The completion of this transaction would make us the second largest express delivery company in France after La Poste. It would give e-retailers access to a new and very attractive network: the most extensive network in the country, the latest pick-up times, the earliest express delivery times in the market. Our objective is to offer a new ecosystem of solutions to our customers and those of Relais Colis in order to serve their omnichannel strategies. The Relais Colis model also appealed to us because we believe in the potential of local delivery networks, aligned with our vision of a sustainable economy, i.e. with grouped deliveries to reduce environmental impact and home delivery by appointment only when necessary (customers with reduced mobility or bulky items). I have every confidence in Christophe Cornilleau, CEO of Walden Express International, to orchestrate this project.

For New R, Nathalie Balla and Eric Courteille, added: “His entrepreneurial philosophy and success convinced us that Walden was the best partner to continue the profitable growth and development of the company.

Jean-Sébastien Léridon, Managing Director of Relais Colis, said: “This project represents a real opportunity for the Relais Colis teams. Walden is a family business whose activities we will be able to complement with our know-how and skills.