Swiss Post and Germany’s Hermes announced today they have divided their joint Italian subsidiaryPorta a Porta into two separate businesses, with each holding a majority stake in its respective
core business.Porta a Porta, offering B2C parcel deliveries and cross-border mail services, was previouslyowned 60% by Swiss Post, 30% by Hermes and 10% by the former owner GDN. Hermes bought into theItalian company in autumn 2007.
Under the new structure that came into force on January 1, 2009, the Italian operator hasbeen separated into two re-branded companies, Hermes-Porta a Porta and Swiss Post-Porta a Porta.Hermes owns 70% of Hermes-Porta a Porta, with Swiss Post holding a 20% stake and GDN retaining a10% stake. Similarly, Swiss Post owns 70% of Swiss Post-Porta a Porta, with Hermes holding 20% andGDN the remaining 10%.
In a joint statement, Swiss Post and Hermes said that by dividing the business, the partnercompanies could each focus on their respective core competencies. Swiss Post-Porta a Porta willconcentrate on cross-border mail business and other logistics services for the joint deliverynetwork, while Hermes-Porta a Porta will focus on B2C parcel distribution in Italy.
Beyond the current cooperation, Swiss Post International (SPI) is also the sales partner ofchoice for Hermes in its European B2C markets.
With its main transshipment base in Milan and 68 depots throughout Italy, “Porta a Porta”already has the most extensive private B2C logistics network in Italy. In 2008, around 3.7 millionitems were delivered to private customers via this network, corresponding to a market share of 7%.
