Apparel retailer J. Crew signed a three-year contract with Newgistics for returns services that allow customers to use a pre-address, pre-paid mailing label, the companies said yesterday.
J. Crew will use Newgistics' ReturnValet service. It will start with the Quick Label program, which lets customers place a label that comes with their shipment onto a return package and send it via the U.S. Postal Service.
The program makes it easy for customers to ship returns and prevents them from having to pay upfront for shipping, Newgistics said.
J. Crew plans eventually to expand its use of ReturnValet to include Newgistics' network of local shipping centers for returns. Customers could go to an area shipping center, drop off a package and receive a credit receipt just as they would if they were returning an item to a retail store.
Terms of the contract were not disclosed. Other users of ReturnValet include Spiegel Catalog, Eddie Bauer, Newport News, Lillian Vernon and Sincerely Yours.
Newgistics is partnered with R.R. Donnelley Logistics, USF Processors and Spiegel-Hermes General Service to providing merchandise-returns services. The four companies together have agreements with 4,000 shipping centers nationally for use in merchandise returns.
