Parcel carrier DHL Express said Tuesday that it has opened a mobile pop-up store in Katy, Texas, a western suburb of Houston, for customers to drop off international parcels for delivery across DHL’s 220-nation network.
The 2,200-cubic-foot store, located in the Katy Mills shopping center, is the DHL unit’s second such facility in the U.S. The first opened in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., in July.
The mobile store was installed to address the Houston area’s growing demand for international shipping services, “which has increased significantly since last year due to a pandemic-related surge in e-commerce sales,” said Greg Hewitt, DHL Express’ U.S. CEO, in a statement.
DHL Express, the largest of German-based DHL’s business units, provides international services to and from the U.S. It ceased domestic U.S. services in 2009.
DHL Express will not immediately offer pickup services at the Katy location, but plans to do so in the near future, the company said, adding that the facility will remain open past the peak holiday shipping season.
Pop-up locations, which rest on hydraulic lift platforms, gained popularity several years ago as a way for parcel delivery carriers to quickly gain additional capacity during the busy peak period. The centers can be relocated, as needed, in response to changes in local shipping activity.
DHL said it worked with mall property giant Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) to place the pop-up store in the Katy shopping center.
