DHL invests in local Russian market
DHL officials revealed their development plans for the Northwest Region of Russia at a press conference Thursday, as well as major plans for investment.
“During 2001, we doubled the volume of our turnover in the Northwest Region, in comparison with 2000, while sales volume in the parcel category showed a 64-percent increase during the first six months of 2002, compared to the same period in 2001,” said Axel Gietz, corporate-affairs director of DHL Worldwide Express said at the press conference.
Also speaking at the conference, Alexander Danilov, country manager for DHL Russia, said that “By the end of 2002, we are planning to introduce a number of new client services, including Time Definite Delivery and Deutsche Post Global mail.”
“Our investments in the development of our business in Russia have reached $50 million, and we are going to invest 10 percent of our profit each year,” Gietz said. Ten years ago, 90 percent of DHL clients in Russia were foreign companies, with ten times more documents being sent in to the country than out. Now, 50 percent of DHL clients in Russia are local, with only 70 percent more deliveries coming in than going out. Analysts estimate that the air-express delivery market in Russia is worth about $75 million per year, and that it is growing at an annual rate of 10 percent to 12 percent. According to the Russian Association of Express-Delivery Companies, the postal and cargo-delivery infrastructure in Russia remains undeveloped.
The air-express delivery market is for the most part controlled by foreign companies such as DHL, UPS, TNT, FedEx and EMS.
According to research carried out by Research International, a research agency, DHL’s market share in Russia was 53 percent.
