Amsterdam-based Lockster, a startup that installs parcel lockers, announced that it has raised €1.1M in its pre-Seed round of funding from healthcare entrepreneur Loek Winter.
Besides the funding, the company has also opened up four new parcel safes in Hilversum, the Netherlands. These include Gooische Brink Shopping Center (Kerkstraat 63), the Hilversum Library (‘s-Gravelandseweg 55), Computer Care (Gijsbrecht van Amstelstraat 64), and Vonk in de Wijk (Larenseweg 139).
The first of a total of 100 parcel walls in the Netherlands are already operational. The large shopping areas in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht will follow next.
In the Netherlands, only about 10 to 15 per cent of parcel delivery goes to lockers, which translates to revenues of €36M. The country is lagging behind the rest of Europe in this respect, although new players such as De Buren, Budbee, Instabox, and Post NL itself are rapidly entering the market.
About Lockster
Abel Bijlsma founded the company in 2021. The idea of parcel safes was born after an effort to develop a zoning plan for vacant bank buildings with vault spaces fell through, but the underground vaults turned out to be profitable for rental.
Bijlsma says that Lockster was created to offer consumers convenience and safety, while at the same time giving nature a helping hand. The company says that the last mile of mail delivery is polluting the environment. By ordering in a Lockster, the delivery person does not have to drive past houses unnecessarily, thereby reducing CO2 emissions of the parcel deliverer by 70 per cent.
Bijlsma explains, “Every customer can easily rent a locker from us via the Lockster app. You choose your Lockster and a box in the app, then you create your own opening code. This code will appear on the shipping label and so you will never miss a package again. With the help of this opening code, only you and the parcel deliverer have access to the box.”
How it works
People can pick up packages 24/7 and all parcel services (from Post NL to DHL) can drop their packages in the parcel safes.
“We place the parcel walls at large shopping centers, libraries, markets, in short, in places where there is already a lot of visitor traffic,” adds Bijlsma. “For the location where we erect the walls, this means more shop visitors. As a result, from now on you can not only have all your packages delivered 24/7 to a safe, crowded place, but also have your returns collected there.”
Anyone can buy a monthly subscription depending on the size of the safe – small (backpack), medium (saucepan), and large (small suitcase) – at €4.99, €9.99, and €14.99 per month, respectively.
For retailers, getting a package wall installed is free of charge. The retailer only needs a square meter and a power outlet. Lockster can even advise on how and in what size the walls can best be placed in the room.
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