GLS achieves strong growth for new European express service

The new European express parcel service of GLS has grown strongly since its launch last October, according to the Royal Mail division, and new customers have been won for 2007.

GLS Germany subsidiary Der Kurier, which operates the express service for its parent company through its own network, said in a statement that volumes have grown tenfold in just ten weeks since the new product was launched in October 2006.

Der Kurier provides a 24-hour express service from Germany to seven continental European countries: Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark and Hungary. The UK was integrated into the express network with the launch of daily flights by newly-created in-house airline GLS Air from Kassel, close to the Der Kurier hub at Neuenstein in central Germany, to Coventry.

GLS “Euro Express” parcels, which can weigh up to 50kg, are delivered by the end of the following working day with a money-back guarantee. Time-definite next-day options (09:00, 10:00 and 12:00) are available within all key economic areas in the express network. There is also an optional Saturday (12:00) delivery service.

“The volumes have already grown tenfold in the ten weeks since the start of the Euro Express-Parcel,” commented Franz Hollfelder, managing director of Der Kurier. Although Austria and the Netherlands remain the two largest markets, the UK has quickly grown into the third-largest express destination, he added.

“European cross-border express delivery has increased strongly in overall terms,“ Hollfelder pointed out. “Three years after starting the international activities of Der Kurier, they now make up about 15% of the total volumes handled, and the trend is continuing to rise,” he added.

Der Kurier noted that the new Germany-UK flights had been reliably integrated into its express network, including during the period of bad weather before Christmas. “Not least because of this, we are entering 2007 with many new customers,” Hollfelder pointed out.

Der Kurier, for whom volumes and revenue figures are not disclosed, operates a network of 141 stations across Germany and works with partner companies in other European countries. Within Germany, it provides the GLS “Express-Parcel” service with next-day delivery by 12:00, with optional, time-definite earlier delivery times.

The main GLS cross-border European product is its standard “European Parcel” for items up to 50kg with regular transit times of 24-48 hours for neighbouring countries or regions, and 72 hours for longer distances.