The GLS subsidiary in Italy has re-branded from its Italian name of Corriere Executive to GLS inthe latest move towards establishing the group name in all European subsidiaries.
The GLS brand, which was already partly used by the Italian company during a co-branding phasefollowing its acquisition by the Royal Mail subsidiary in 2001, replaced the Executive logo andsymbol on the company’s vans, driver uniforms, office signs and corporate publications with effectfrom April 1. The formal company name was already GLS Italy.
The re-branding would give the company new opportunities for growth and development, AlfredoGabriele, director general of GLS Italy, was quoted as saying in the company’s latest customermagazine. “From a company with a local, provincial and regional basis, we are moving to acompletely international scale,” he said. In particular, GLS Italy would aim to increase Europeansales from its existing domestic customers, while providing distribution for inbound parcels fromother European countries.
The company, which currently focuses on the B2B market, is also introducing “parcel shops” asdrop-off and collection points in order to target the B2C segment, Gabriele said. Four locationshad been opened to date. This plan is part of the overall GLS strategy of creating a pan-Europeannetwork of B2C outlets over the next few years.
GLS Italy, with 130 branches, claims to be the second-largest express operator in Italy. Thecompany says it has grown by 7% on average over the last five years despite the slow overall growthof the Italian economy.
