TNT NV said it has taken a 35 percent stake in the web-shopping company Sierra Nova BV, which operates an online pharmacy website.
The website was jointly set up in January 2007 by Sierra Nova, CEVA Logistics and TNT Post, with TNT responsible for the delivery of the medicines.
Other shareholders include the Luxembourg investment company QAT Investments Sa and smaller shareholders.
Read MoreStock prices of top express companies including DHL parent Deutsche Post World Net, TNT, UPS and FedEx have fallen dramatically over the last six months, primarily due to rising oil prices and worsening economic conditions.
DPWN has experienced the most dramatic fall. Its June 30 share price of EUR 16.60 represented a 17.5 pct fall on the previous month and a 28.5pct slump compared to January 2, 2008.
TNT shares also fell sharply by 14.5pct to EUR 21.72 as of June 30 compared to one month earlier, and ended the first half of 2008 with an overall decrease of 22.2pct. Despite the completion of a EUR 500 million share buyback programme, its stock price was negatively impacted by the weaker economic environment, rising oil prices and a Q1 profit drop of 17.7pct.
UPS suffered a share price drop of 14.1pct to USD 61.47 as of June 30 compared to the previous month. The six-month drop in the share price was slightly lower at 12.5pct. In Q1, the slowing US economy and unprecedented increase in the cost of fuel along with additional charges for aircraft retirement and redundancies caused lower-than-expected US package volume and an accelerating contraction in the use of premium air products which resulted in a double-digit drop in profit.
FedEx is also suffering from the triple impact of soaring fuel prices, the weak US economy and financial charges causing its shares to fall by 14.5pct to USD 78.79 as of June 30 compared to May 30. It had the lowest half-year share price fall of the “Big Four” with 8.55pct.
Trying to compensate for higher fuel costs, the four integrators increased their air fuel surcharges dramatically to the 20pct – 30pct range last month as soaring oil prices drove up operating costs.
Read MoreWith competition hotting up from big-time players such as FedEx and UPS as well as the established international cargo airlines, two of India’s top express players have chalked out plans to go overseas.
Over the past few years, the number of cargo carriers has gone up significantly. From the lone Blue Dart, the only Indian cargo carrier, there are today at least half a dozen more players.
Blue Dart Aviation, a subsidiary of express cargo carrier Blue Dart Express, has drafted a plan to start flying abroad. The plan, said Tulsi Mirchandaney, formerly senior vice-president, marketing and projects, and now managing director of Blue Dart Aviation, is in
the initial stage.
Mirchandaney should know because she was not only instrumental in marketing air cargo products but also involved in route planning and space allocation.
The decision to fly abroad has been prompted by the under-utilisation of Blue Dart’s fleet. Blue Dart has seven planes – four Boeing 737s and three Boeing 757s – that fly around the country for only eight hours at night.
In 2005, DHL Express completed the acquisition of 81.03 per cent of the equity capital of Blue Dart Express. Under the deal, Blue Dart continues to operate as an independent brand and provides a complete spectrum of domestic services through synergies with DHL.
The company is currently in talks with its parent DHL to find out ways in which the two could work together and ensure that Blue Dart planes can be used for international operations.
While Blue Dart firms up its plan, GATI, an express cargo delivery major with experience in distribution and supply chain management solutions, has started its foreign air cargo operations with Air India.
GATI’s managing director and chief executive officer Mahendra Agarwal said that his company had an agreement with Air India to take cargo overseas. This would be a follow-up to GATI’s tie-up late last year with the national carrier.
According to that tie-up, three of AI’s Boeing 727-200 freighters operate with the GATI logo within the country.
Keen to establish its presence globally, GATI has set up offices in China, Japan, Dubai, Hong Kong Thailand, Nepal and Sri Lanka and has plans to foray into other markets. The express major’s revenues have grown from USD 1 46 million to USD 7.04 million over the past three years.
Read MoreTNT says it is well-placed to ride out the effects of any global economic downturn thanks to minimal exposure to the US domestic market.
Last week, rival FedEx reported a fourth-quarter net loss of USD 241m (GBP 121m) and full-year net income of USD 1.13bn (GBP 568.3m), down some 44 pct on the previous year, mainly caused by the weak US economy.
And fellow US-based operator UPShas already warned of falling domestic demand.
However, Marie-Christine Lombard, group MD for TNT’s Express division, says: “We are not affected by the US slowdown – we have no exposure in the US, in some ways to our great regret and in others not.”
In a reference to DHL, which has recently announced large-scale cutbacks in its US operation, she adds: “[DHL] has paid for it – and now you see what the result is. When you have very strong operators in very mature markets it is very hard to enter the market late.”
Despite the sell-off of its logistics arm in 2006, TNT is still targeting growth in the plus-30kg consignment sector, such as pallets and other oversized express freight, says Lombard.
“What we have found is that clients trading on express flows have other flows that they would like to use TNT for. We want to capture those and arrange solutions for our clients.”
Marketing and Sales Director Jan-Willem Breen says that a broad product offering, particularly what it describes as “Economy Express”, is also helping the firm to survive the downward economic pressure by allowing its customers to switch traffic to cheaper ground-based options.
Read MoreTNT announced the start of the only scheduled road services between China and five countries of Southeast Asia, using its Asia Road Network. From China, international road services to Southeast Asia will first be available from the South of the country. In a second step, TNT will link the Asia Road Network to its Chinese domestic network to offer customers seamless road connections from many parts of China to Southeast Asia.
The Asia Road Network connects to TNT’s international express network at Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province.
Introduced at the end of 2005, TNT’s Asia Road Network is a fast, reliable, and secure integrated road network linking China with over 125 cities across 5,000 km in Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Laos. It features fully inclusive secure, door-to-door, day-definite distribution service with complete track and trace capabilities, supported by a 24/7 real-time GPS tracking system. The trucks depart on schedule like trains, leaving to arrive at one of TNT’s hubs and depots, in time for parcels to be unloaded, sorted, and shipped out again or delivered locally.
Due to China’s geographical proximity and close business links, Vietnam, in particular, will benefit from TNT’s completed Asia Road Network. As Vietnam’s economy continues to grow, bilateral trade volume between both countries is on the increase and offers strong business opportunities for TNT.
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