DHL Australia Survey: Exporters turning to E-commerce
DHL New Zealand Survey: Exporters turning to E-commerce
Read MoreTag: Retailing
Deutsche Post, Metro, GS1 joint venture cleared by EU
The European Commission said it has cleared Deutsche Post AG, Metro AG and GS1 Germany GmbH’s proposed acquisition of shares for joint control of European EPC Competence Centre.
The transaction was examined under the EU’s ‘simplified’ merger review procedure; cases which the commission believes do not pose competition concerns.
No financial details were disclosed.
Deutsche Post has postal, logistics and financial services. Metro is a supermarket group, while GS1 deals with data and goods traffic optimisation systems.
The European EPC Competence Centre runs tests on electronic transmitters provided with goods.
Read MoreRetail progress helps domestic courier services grow in Romania
DHL Romania last year witnessed a 60% growth in the sector of domestic delivery services, with this sector expected to continue as one of the company’s main growth drivers in the future, says Gian Sharp country manager with DHL.
He explained that while document delivery will not experience a rise, as documents can now be sent by e-mail, express parcel shipment services would certainly witness growth.
Though internal courier services account for only around 10 percent of the company’s turnover the growth remains significant.
In 2005, DHL derived around 18 million euros from courier services alone, with the company’s representatives putting last year’s growth rate at more than 20%, which means the company’s 2006 turnover for this sector exceeded 20 million euros.
Consecutively the company posted a 21.7% increase on the sector of express imports, which was bolstered by rising online sales with Romanians now able to buy products from abroad by using the Internet. As regards the volume of express import services, the company also expects significant increases this year, but the biggest increase will be witnessed on the segment of day definite services.
According to the company’s representatives DHL is a global as well as domestic leader in the segment of express delivery services. DHL expects its domestic turnover to increase by 35-40% this year, having already witnessed growth of over 30% in the first three months of 2007 against the same period last year.
Read MorePoste Italiane plans cellphone service
Poste Italiane said Monday that it would begin selling mobile phone services by the end of the year as it aims for a slice of one of the world’s most lucrative, yet saturated, markets.
Poste Italiane, which plans to sell the services in partnership with one of the country’s four existing cellphone operators, will pay a fee to use their infrastructure as it sets up what is known as a mobile virtual network operator. The company aims to have two million clients five years after the service has been introduced, the Poste chief executive, Massimo Sarmi, said at a presentation. He declined to say which of the existing Italian operators he expected to sign the accord.
To grab new clients, Poste plans to leverage its 14,000 branches, which reach into every corner of Italy, Sarmi said. About 1.5 million people enter an Italian post office every day, and the company has a successful banking business with 20 million clients – holders of bank accounts, credit cards or prepaid cards that could be directly linked to pay for cellphone services.
Virtual operators have existed in the United States and Europe for several years, including Virgin Mobile in Britain, Yoigo in Spain and Beyond Mobile in the United States. But most have failed to make a significant impact on the market. The two exceptions are Denmark and Germany, where virtual operators like Debitel have carved out more than 20 percent of the market, according to a Poste Italiane document.
Poste Italiane also said Monday that 2006 net income almost doubled to EUR676 million, or USD900 million, from EUR349 million, while sales rose EUR600 million, or 3.5 percent, to EUR17.1 billion.
Read MoreNordstrom to put recycled paper in catalogs
Nordstrom Inc. yesterday became the latest cataloger to adopt more environmentally aware practices into its catalog program. The decision comes after similar moves by Williams-Sonoma, Hewlett-Packard and Limited Brands.
Catalogers have long been the target of environmental activists for their heavy paper usage. The rash of new green policies being announced by major catalog brands could change that, even though many direct marketers still argue that it is not economically feasible to switch to more environmentally friendly paper.
Starting in April, Nordstrom said it would be the first among its peers in the specialty fashion arena to print on Forest Stewardship Council certified stock with 30 percent post-consumer waste.
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