Evri rebrand: a success or “putting lipstick on a pig?”

Back in March 2022, embattled parcel courier Hermes revealed it was rebranding as ‘Evri’ with a shiny new logo and brand identity.

It was out with the old and in with the new as the company strived to leave behind its poor public image and start afresh.

But has the rebrand worked?

Evri’s reputation

“If the comments and complaints on social media in the run-up to Christmas are anything to go on, then it would appear that a lick of paint and a new logo might be all that Hermes has achieved so far with its rebrand to Evri,” Fifty2M managing director Lee Petts tells Charged.

Oh that's nice. Today Evri are delivering the parcel of Christmas presents that were meant to arrive on the 21st of December and they then lost.

— Sarah (@SarahDuggers) January 12, 2023

My only goal for 2023 is to make Evri crumble away to nothing so retailers are forced to use decent parcel carriers, who’s with me

— Vicky (@ohwilduk) January 1, 2023

Indeed, when Hermes announced its rebrand to Evri, the company pledged to radically improve its customer service and overall operations.

Brandon Consultants founder Richard Taylor also believes that the rebrand has not been the “huge hit” that the senior leadership team of the business envisaged that it would be.

“Hermes reputation before the rebrand was appalling when many forced customers would just cite ‘you have one job and can’t even get that right!’.

“The majority of the British public still see Evri as a wolf in sheep’s clothing and I’m not sure a name change and revised identity has helped the cause as much as one would have hoped.”

Rather than turning the controversial courier around, Ohana CEO and founder David Henry argues that the rebrand has simply caused further damage to Evri’s reputation.

“The rebrand probably created hope from customers and staff that their service would become less laughable, but if you just paper over the cracks with a new brand image and don’t address the brands shortcomings, it simply creates a bigger issue.”

Why has the rebrand failed to have an impact?

From political interventions, petitions and being named the worst performing parcel firm for the second year running, it’s fair to say that Evri has been rocked by numerous scandals since its rebrand.

Welsh Labour MP Carolyn Harris recently called for an “urgent explanation” from the CEO of Evri over its “poor performance” back in December, accusing the courier of causing “misery” to people in the run-up to Christmas.

Harris spoke out after Evri came under fire for severe parcel delays across UK in the run up to Christmas. The company has since apologised for these delays and blamed them on Royal Mail strikes, staff shortages and bad weather.

Have you experienced delays or your parcels been lost by Evri delivery?

I have written to the CEO of Evri UK demanding an urgent explanation as to why their performance has been so poor. The #CostOfLivingCrisis is making life hard enough for many, don't add to it #Evri pic.twitter.com/MGjCpeGjib

— Carolyn Harris MP (@carolynharris24) December 9, 2022

“Despite incredible efforts from all of our people, our service has not been as good as we would have liked in some areas, and we are committed to redoubling our efforts this year, including a focus on recruitment,” an Evri spokeswoman said.

Therefore, despite the rebrand, the courier still appears to be plagued by the same problems.

“They need to address the core issues with their service, deliver the parcels they are entrusted with on time and in the correct manner, when they make a mistake live up to their promise of caring about their customers and make it right,” Henry says.

Petts also argues that Evri needs to fundamentally re-examine what its customers actually want, need and expect – their parcels being delivered safely and and on time – then review its business model in that context.

“If this isn’t done, there is a chance that Evri will set itself up for continued failure as a result of misalignment between what’s possible and what’s demanded,” he says.

“It sounds as though it could probably also benefit from commissioning an external assessment of the reputational risks it faces so that a strategy can be developed for minimising then mitigating them, with appropriate crisis communications plans put in place for all eventualities.”

However, Lee does acknowledge that Evri has achieved at least one goal of the rebrand, in that most people now refer to the business as Evri, with the Hermes name largely consigned to the past.

“But a business and its reputation are about more than just a name,” he says.

“I suspect Evri’s continuing problems stem from the fact that it hasn’t done enough to address its operating model and assert its brand values internally in order to positively change working culture and ensure everyone is aligned with the objectives of the rebrand.”

As Henry asserts: “The rebrand created hope and maybe some belief in giving them another try, but the reality is like putting lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig, just wearing lipstick.”

What is next for Evri and can it turn things around?  

“In all fairness, it’s only been a year since the changes were introduced, and these things take time to embed properly,” Petts says.

“There are plenty of other delivery businesses out there doing a good job with fewer complaints, so we at least know it’s possible to get it mostly right.

“If it can tweak its model to iron-out any lasting operational challenges, and get its people fully engaged with the changes its trying to make, then it could still rehabilitate and eventually elevate its brand.”

Thanks #evri much appreciated 🤣@ladbible pic.twitter.com/z7JDxLFvU5

— Cory Shackleton (@CoryShackleton) January 3, 2023

However, Petts believes that Evri must begin to admit its mistakes and apologise meaningfully to customers, rather than issuing bland statements from unnamed spokespeople.

“People are generally more forgiving of businesses that publicly acknowledge when there’s room for improvement and that explain how and when inadequacies will be remedied,” he adds.

Richard also maintains that Evri must operate with more honesty and candour and not be afraid to own its mistakes.

“I’d love to see an evolution of the brands personality brought to the fore,” he says. “Bring out the human side of the people from within the business and don’t be afraid to show faces.

“At the moment the typography leads the way. A comms agency might help to start to turn the tide with a campaign that everyone can relate to. Perhaps they could take a leaf out of Avis’s book and go for “we try harder”, that brutal honesty would be a great start.”

David also has little faith that Evri will turn it around, as the business is in a “race to the bottom on cost” and this is impacting its service and its reputation.

Evidently, a new logo and a lick of paint were not enough to fix Evri’s deep-rooted operational issues.