Stuart looking to more than double footprint in 2018
On demand and same-day delivery specialist Stuart is looking to more than double the number of cities in which it operates by the end of 2018.
In an exclusive interview with Post&Parcel, Stuart’s chief operating officer David Saenz said that the company is preparing to up its coverage from 12 cities to 30 – and also extend its presence into new countries.
At the moment, Stuart is up and running in France, Spain and the UK.
Many of the new 18 cities will be in these countries.
In the UK, for example, Stuart is currently operating in London, Newcastle, Leeds and Sheffield and Saenz told us that there will be more expansion next year. Although the company has not yet made any final decisions on exactly which UK cities will join the Stuart roster, there is a good chance that Liverpool, Manchester or Birmingham could be brought into the network in 2018.
In terms of new countries, the Netherlands and Italy could both feature in Stuart’s plans – but Saenz emphasized that a lot of options are being explored.
Stuart is also looking to increase its density in the cities where it is already operating. In London, for example, Stuart currently works with about 250-300 couriers and it will look to build on this in 2018.
The company is looking to more than triple the number of deliveries that it makes next year, as it not only ramps up its infrastructure, but also continues to build brand awareness and, of course, taps into the e-commerce expansion.
The initial part of Stuart’s business was delivering meals from restaurants. When Stuart started up in 2015, this accounted for about 95% of deliveries. But while this is still a big part – perhaps 60% – of the company’s business, Stuart has been steadily increasing its involvement in other e-commerce sectors. This allows Stuart to blend food peaks with demand in other verticals to stay busy all day long and pass on those efficiencies to clients.
In pursuing this strategy, Stuart will be looking to capitalise on its corporate connections with the industry giant GeoPost and potential synergies with sister company, DPD.
Stuart began life as a lean, fast-moving independent start-up; but investment from the GeoPost has helped the company to realise its ambitions for growth. In March this, GeoPost up its stake in Stuart from 22% to full ownership. Saenz said that Stuart now has the best of both worlds: it can explore opportunities like working on last mile delivery options with DPD; and it also has retained its own brand and culture.
