Hermes, the fast-growing German parcels operator, announced today it will launch a Europeandistribution service on September 4. The new service will intensify its competition with DHL
Express for consumer and SME business.From that date, customers can hand in parcels weighing up to 25 kg at the 12,000 HermesPaketShops across Germany not only for domestic delivery but also to EU destinations, Hermes saidin a statement.
It was not disclosed which partner companies would handle the European transportation anddelivery. Hermes, a subsidiary of the mail-order giant Otto Group, has been in discussions withOtto’s small British and French parcel delivery companies to provide coverage of those two majormarkets. It has also launched in-depth cooperation with TNT Express in Germany that could be thebasis for cooperation in other European countries.
Hermes said that instead of charging by European zones, it will have a pan-European pricingstructure, with three basic prices: €13.90 (small parcels), €18.90 (medim-sized items) and €28.90(large parcels). The price includes three delivery attempts, online tracking and insurance coverageup to €500. Customers can buy inexpensive packaging for their parcels in the PaketShops.
Up to now, Hermes has now only offered domestic parcel services and has grown rapidly byundercutting DHL parcel prices. It now claims a B2C German domestic market share of 35% and a 22%share of the domestic C2C market. The network of about 12,000 PaketShops, which are primarily a “shop-in-shop” service within other retail shops, has been built up over the last three years. In2005-06, Hermes generated revenues of €908 million and transported 213 million shipments.
