American parcel delivery group UPS has signed an agreement with the Albert Heijn chain to set up pick-up points in all its supermarkets, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Friday.

The deal means UPS will have 1,400 outlets where consumers can pick up parcels. That market is expected to grow by 13% to 15% over the next five years, UPS says.

PostNL, the Dutch mail firm, has 2,600 pick-up points but the FD says some of them are to be closed and the company is looking for new partners as well.

However, UPS Benelux director Henk Kammeraat told the paper the company is not attempting to take on PostNL.

‘We have our own plan. We see the way online shopping is growing,’ he said. ‘Of course our competitors are aware of that as well but we are moving forward under our own steam.’

Editor’s note: On Saturday, the Financieele Dagblad published a retraction for this article, stating it had been based on a ‘misunderstanding’.