Autumn 2007

Giraffe Marketing, the company that produces the Hippo Box unattended delivery box, reckons it has come up with a neat solution to the problem faced by people who are returning goods and want to leave them unattended somewhere where the delivery driver can collect them.

Basically it's a key safe in which the householder can leave the key to the Hippo Box. Managing director Charles Gallichan admits it's 'not rocket science', but says the value lies in the fact that it is an integrated solution from a single supplier.

The unit has been sourced externally, and comes in two versions - one for wall-mounting, one with a padlock-style loop for hanging or linking to a secure anchor point. It is opened with a four-digit code, selected from ten numeric keys, and the arrangement would be that the consumer would give the current code to the supplier when arranging a collection.

According to Charles Gallichan, the concept was developed following discussions with retailer Next, which had shown interest in the Hippo Box, but pointed out that returns were a fact of life in the catalogue market, and wanted a system that took account of them.

 

Gallichan says that having a key available also makes it possible for the Hippo Box to receive more than one delivery in a day - something never possible before with this system. 'This might compromise the consumer's insurance cover,' he admits, 'but theft of an earlier delivery by a subsequent driver would be relatively easy to detect, so in reality it's probably not a big problem.'

The keysafe is priced at £25 including VAT when bought with a Hippo Box, or £30 otherwise.