Integer.pl secures parcel terminal deal in Hong Kong
Poland’s Integer.pl Group has secured a contract to roll out 150 of its parcel locker terminals across Hong Kong later this year.
The EUR 3.2m deal comes with an option for a further 150 parcel terminals by 2016, which would take the contract value to EUR 6.4m.
The agreement is with CX Couriers, which Integer.pl Group said has a 20% market share in Hong Kong, with a strategy to push for a 30% share over the next two years.
The company delivers about 4.5m parcels each month across Hong Kong.
Integer.pl said the deal marked a milestone for its InPost parcel terminals ahead of an anticipated expansion into mainland China.
The arrangement will see CX Courier renting the parcel terminals for its exclusive use. Integer.pl said it was planning to develop its own InPost 24 branded network of parcel terminals in Hong Kong to run alongside the CX Courier terminals, using CX Courier as its logistic partner.
The companies are now looking for potential locations for the terminals, close to residential buildings, in supermarkets, business centres, train stations, universities and car parks.
Christian Secci, general manager of InPost Asia, said Hong Kong was a “vibrant and important” consumer market, but delivery companies find customer access difficult.
“There are two big barriers to courier companies opening their own collection centres – namely: lack of available sites and the cost of land,” he said.
“Both these factors together with the expansion of e-commerce mean that courier companies need to find innovative solutions to meet the ever increasing demands of today’s time poor consumers. This agreement offers a great new service for the Hong Kong consumer.”
CX Courier was founded in 1987, providing domestic and international express services to more than 80 countries.
The company said the parcel locker project was a “huge opportunity” as it looks to establish a click and collect service for Hong Kong shoppers, particularly in high density areas of population.
“Customers will no longer have to wait at home for their parcels or queue at Post Offices to collect their online purchases,” said Johnson Yim, Executive Director at CX Courier.
“This saves customer’s time and gives them the flexibility to choose a convenient locker location that suits their needs. We see InPost and their Automated Parcel Lockers (APL) machines as a logical partner to capitalise in the e-commerce parcel market, which is experiencing incredible demand across the region.”
Results
Integer.pl Group, which is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, has just published annual results for 2013 showing that its revenues from sales reached PLN 347m (EUR 82.8m) in the full year, up 23.2% on 2012. Net profit was PLN 8.63m (EUR 2.05m).
The company has a domestic mail and parcels business as well as the parcel terminals business.
Rafal Brzoska, CEO of the Integer.pl Group, commented: “Last year was a time of an enormous e-commerce success – excellent results of e-shopping caused, that we decided to boost our InPost parcel lockers expansion. We have appeared in new, very prospective regions, including: Romania, Colombia, Iceland as well as Caribbean. We are dynamically developing in one of the most advanced e-commerce markets in the world – Great Britain.
“This year we will increase the pace of expansion even stronger – shortly, we will announce new contracts and partnerships in Europe and worldwide. Still, we will constantly fight for demonopolisation of the Polish postal market.”
