In addition to record volumes anticipated for Germany, the Hermes Group is expecting to post a significant increase in volumes across Europe in the lead up to Christmas. The seasonal trading period officially kicked off in October. Hermes country companies in Austria, the UK, Russia and Italy are positioned to cope with an average rise of 25 percent in the number of parcels to be transported. Besides private parcels and online orders delivered on time for Christmas, this also includes corresponding returns following the gift-giving days themselves. In preparation for this deluge of parcels, many locations are currently expanding delivery capacity. The peak forecast for Hermes UK is particularly impressive with parcel volumes expected to be up 32 percent compared to non-peak. This could lead to an increase of 20 percent compared to last year’s peak.

For the first time in its corporate history, Hermes posted revenues of over two billion euros for the 2013 financial year. In doing so, the Hamburg-based company continued its growth path of previous years into a tenth successive year. With its twelve subsidiaries providing retail-related and logistics services, Hermes grew total revenues by 8 percent to 2,083 million euros, up on the 1,928 million euros in 2012. They largely came from European parcel delivery services, which, with 496 million shipments, were about 10 percent higher than in the previous year. On the highly competitive German market, Hermes is now driving forward increased cooperation between market participants in the interests of the consumer. The positive trend was accompanied by 700 new jobs. Hermes now employs 11,814 permanent employees in over 20 countries.

Hermes, a sister company of Crate & Barrel, has confirmed its attendance at the Shop.org annual summit from September 30 to October 2nd in Chicago. As a full-service provider of multichannel solutions for retailers and brands, Hermes has recently established itself as a leading provider of end-to-end services in e-commerce. The enterprise is part of the Otto Group, the second-largest retailer in the world behind Amazon.

Hermes, a sister company of Crate & Barrel, has confirmed its attendance at the IRCE from June 4 to 7 in Chicago. As a full-service provider of multichannel solutions for retailers and brands, Hermes has recently established itself as a leading provider of end-to-end services in e-commerce. The enterprise is part of the Otto Group that employs 50,000 people worldwide and is the second-largest retailer in the world behind Amazon.

For the ninth year in succession, Hermes posted a positive business year in 2012. The enterprise's 12 Group companies rendering retail-related and logistics services worldwide grew overall revenue by 7 percent year on year to 1,928 million euros compared to 1,800 million euros in the prior year. With over 452 million consignments shipped in Europe and a 7.5 percent growth in parcel volumes, Hermes continues to participate in the boom in e-commerce. In 2013, new sites are planned in the EU, Asia and the USA. In addition, the current financial year will see the enterprise set up a Supervisory Board.

Hermes, one of Europe's leading trading and logistics providers, is continuing its international expansion. The company is stepping up its campaign to strengthen its position in key markets and gain proximity to customers and clients. As part of its efforts, company-wide sales positions have been established in key e-commerce strongholds such as the USA, France and the Benelux countries. The aim is to bolster both international acquisitions and the reach of the Hermes brand. A pivotal forum for this is the 'One to One' e-commerce congress in Monaco from 20-21 March, where Hermes will be presenting is global service portfolio.

Numerous guests from the worlds of business and politics gathered in Hamburg yesterday for the second Hermes Future Forum. Entitled "The Coherence of Markets - Sustainable Global Economics in a Context of Worldwide Changed", distinguished speakers discussed developments in world economics and their impact on companies and the retailing industry. Besides football icon Franz Beckenbauer and US astronaut Buzz Aldrin, distinguished guests included author and economist Prof Jeremy Rifkin, Chinese economist Dr Olin Liu and Ralf Kleber, CEO of Amazon Germany.

Companies operating under the Hermes brand were again able to grow their global revenues in the financial year 2011. Overall revenues increased to 1.8 billion euros, up by more than 4.7 percent year on year (prior year: 1.724 billion euros). Given the positive trend across all four business units - sourcing & product, transport logistics, fulfilment and distribution - the Hamburg-based enterprise was able to employ 773 more staff worldwide. Thus, by the end of the prior financial year 2010/11, the twelve Hermes companies were employing 11,011 staff in over 20 countries.

"The World of Hermes at a Glance": From today, Hermes will be presenting the full-range service portfolio of all national and international companies operating under the Hermes brand for the first time under www.hermesworld.com - a brand new website. Hermes is the only service provider in the world capable of providing its business clients with integrated solutions along the whole supply chain - from procurement to home delivery. This new website and an umbrella brand campaign combine to focus this core competence at the heart of corporate communication. The aim of the company's marketing activities is strengthen the uniform positioning of all Hermes Group companies.

Hermes continues to build on its international business and particularly spotlights the provision of one-stop services in its cross-border shipments between Germany and the UK. While the competition may be back-pedalling somewhat from the British domestic parcel business, the Hamburg-based logistics provider and its sister company, Hermes UK, are forging ahead to provide efficient a reliable parcel deliveries to the private doorstep.