DHL eCommerce looks for more acquisitions in Eastern Europe

DHL eCommerce is looking for more parcel companies to acquire in Eastern Europe. The planned purchase of Venipak in the Baltics is its latest step. CEO Pablo Ciano says the region is now the focus of the division’s European acquisition plans.

In an interview with German logistics publication DVZ, Ciano said DHL sees fewer gaps to fill in Western and Southern Europe. It has merged its UK parcel operations with Evri and formed a partnership with Portuguese postal company CTT for Spain and Portugal. In Eastern Europe, further acquisitions could help it build a stronger network for domestic and cross-border deliveries.

Baltic acquisition adds lockers and local deliveries

DHL agreed to acquire Venipak in July. Subject to regulatory approval, the deal would give DHL eCommerce its own operations in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Venipak has around 800 parcel lockers, as well as collection points and a domestic delivery network. DHL plans to connect those services to its international network.

The deal fits a pattern already visible elsewhere in Europe. In Italy, DHL eCommerce and Poste Italiane launched a joint venture for parcel lockers. In Iberia, its arrangement with CTT brings the companies’ parcel operations closer together. The aim is to give senders access to connected local delivery networks across borders.

Ciano told DVZ that DHL eCommerce’s cross-border business is currently growing by around 15 percent a year. The division is also developing routes between Europe and the Americas. These figures concern DHL’s parcel services, rather than the value of goods sold online.

Second-hand sales increase demand for parcel points

DHL also sees an opportunity in parcels sent between private individuals. Ciano says volumes handled through its parcel shops and lockers are growing by around 50 percent a year. These locations can serve both ends of a second-hand sale: a seller drops off a parcel and a buyer collects it without a doorstep delivery.

Vinted shows why carriers are investing in this market. Goods worth 10.8 billion euros were sold through Vinted in 2025, up 47 percent from the year before. The marketplace has also been connecting buyers and sellers across European countries, increasing the need for international delivery options. In July, DHL and Vinted expanded their cooperation in Germany to make sending and receiving parcels through DHL lockers easier.

Ciano’s longer-term ambition is to double DHL eCommerce’s revenue over the next five years. That is a strategic goal, he told DVZ, rather than a forecast. The division generated 6.9 billion euros in revenue in 2025. Its European acquisitions, partnerships and parcel-point network show where it expects part of that growth to come from.