Deutsche Post announces rebranding of DHL
DHL’s Moscow-based executives say Deutsche Post World Net’s plans to bring its different courier-delivery and logistics companies together under the DHL brand name will bode well for their clients in the C.I.S. and Baltic states.
The announcement was made last week in Moscow during the official presentation of the rebranding program.
The move is part of more expansive plans to boost Deutsche Post World Net’s share in the global market for courier- and business-express-delivery services.
Speaking of the benefits Russia and other post-Soviet countries would presumably gain from the integration, Garry Kemp, DHL’s director general for the region, said it would give these clients access to more extensive top-quality services.
“This is because clients in the former Soviet Union now expect the same level of quality of services as other customers anywhere else in the world do,” he said.
Under the rebranding arrangement, expected to cost 125 million euros, Deutsche Post’s postal business, previously called Euro Express, and its logistics business, previously run by Danzas, will be brought together.
The integration of these brands under one marketing umbrella became possible after Deutsche Post boosted its stake in DHL to 100 percent last December – having acquired 23 percent more shares from two investment funds and another 1.4 percent from a partnership with Japan Airlines.
Previously, it only had about 75 percent, after buying a 25 percent stake of DHL from Lufthansa last July, company executives said.
Klaus Zumwinkel, board chairman of Deutsche Post World Net, said in an official statement that the fact that his company exceeded expectations in the first quarter of 2003 has proven the strength and success of the integration process.
“Revenue and profits are both up on last year’s figures. In the light of our strong figures… we are more convinced than ever that we will be able to become the global leader in the sector,” he said.
“DHL plays a decisive role in Deutsche Post World Net’s strategy. The group is consolidating its entire express-delivery and logistics business, worth 21 billion euros in revenue, under the umbrella of DHL as a part of its STAR program aimed at improving efficiency and profitability in all aspects of the group’s business practice,” DHL Chairman and CEO Uwe Doerken said during the ceremony.
“The program is expected to boost the group’s EBITA earnings by 40 percent – from 2.2 billion euros in 2002 to 3.1 billion euros – by 2005,” he added.
On the subject of the rebranding marketing strategy, Graham Davey, DHL’s chief operating officer for emerging markets, drew the audience’s attention to the word “more,” the ubiquitous buzzword characterizing the new DHL and its operations, strategy and goals, because “the new DHL now stands for more power, more coverage, more reliability, more flexibility and more speed.”
In other words, the future DHL has more to offer, Gavey said.
“More know-how from the combined know-how of the three companies, more efficiency from integrated networks and more complete solutions; this means that all logistics solutions are from a single source,” he added.
DHL employs over 700 people delivering shipments to over 500 Russian towns.
It has over 130 private and agent-owned offices in the C.I.S., serving over 800 towns and settlements.
