UPS Express Stores Debut in Shanghai
UPS, announced on August 2 the formal opening of its two Express stores in Shanghai, the first of its kind in China.
One is located in Hongqiao Business District in Changning District and the other in the downtown areas of Lujiazui Central Business District in Pudong, Shanghai, the economic and commercial hub in eastern China.
The UPS Express stores are expected to bring more convenience to the business offices and small companies in these districts by providing faster delivery and pickup services, Ken Torok, president of UPS Asia Pacific told journalists at an interview.
The stores will offer a full range of shipping options for international shipments including UPS worldwide express plus, UPS worldwide express, UPS 10-kg box delivery services and UPS 25-kg box delivery services. In addition, they will supply customers with professional consulting services.
Due to a simplified delivery procedure, customers can easily submit their freight or mails to UPS Express stores in a short time even on their way to canteens or restaurants for lunch.
The customers in appointed business districts can enjoy more services. If they need services, special staff will come to them on foot within 30 minutes.
This is the latest step in the expansion of UPS operations and services in China since it has terminated cooperation with Chinese partners to go independent after the country fully opened the market to the outside world, claimed Ken Torok.
Now the Sandy Springs-based shipping giant is choosing the location for its third Express store in Shanghai. It intends to expand its retail network into universities and hotels in the future and offer more relative value-added services like copying and bookbinding.
The stores will attract global travelers and undergraduates with intentions to study abroad.
In order to further its business expansion in China, the US-based company will set up some express distribution centers in Chinese cities including Guangzhou in September.
Furthermore, it plans to build more Express stores in such cities as Beijing in northern China and Guangzhou in the south.
The move suggests that UPS has started to cast its eyes to minority customers with no contracts when more and more express deliverers are rushing to main customers. By now the company’s revenues form minority customers in China account for an approximate 30 percent of its total in the country.
In recent years, overseas leading express service providers have specialized in expanding logistics market, and now they are also show interest to small mail express business.
State-owned express operator EMS, private express carriers like ZJS Express and overseas operators including FedEx, TNT and DHL kick off overheating competition in China market at present.
But 90 percent of domestic private express operators just run inner-provincial and regional business, industry analysts said.
China has a population of 1.3 billion and its express business grows at an average speed of 30 percent annually and current market volume has hit CNY 10 billion, according to China’s industry statistics.
China’s small mail express business had much room for growth as a number of companies started exchanging documents by small mail express, said Huang Shaoyin, vice secretary general for Chengdu Logistics Express Association in southwestern Suchuan Province.
(USD1 = CNY 7.97)
From dycj.ynet.com, Page 1, Friday, August 04, 2006 [email protected]
