Yurtici Kargo, one of the leading express parcel carriers in Turkey, is continuing to expand itsnetwork and offer new services, and is not planning any cutbacks despite the economic slowdown, its
general manager told CEP-Research in an exclusive interview.The privately-owned company, which carried about 580,000 daily shipments in 2007, increasedvolumes last year about 15% compared to estimated market growth of about 10%, General Manager OnurÜlseven, said in an interview in Istanbul last week. The Turkish domestic express and parcel markethas been growing about 10% – 15% a year since 2002, he noted.
Yurtici Kargo, with about 10,300 employees, 800 branches and 2,500 vehicles, sees itself asthe domestic market leader. Aras Cargo and MNG Cargo are the other two major players. About 60% ofYurtici Kargo’s parcel volumes are B2B and the remainder B2C, and about 80% are delivered within 24hours (for distances of up to 600km). It also offers express (VIP) delivery options.
“We want to remain number one in the market and to continue to diversify our productportfolio. We are an innovative company and we want to maintain this,” Ülseven said. Despite theclear impact of the European economic slowdown on Turkey, the company remains “optimistic” for 2009and is determined to maintain price levels despite strong price-based competition, he added.
“We have decided we will not make any cuts because of the crisis. We are keeping ouremployees and we are increasing wages. This shows that we trust our employees,” Ülseven said.
Investment in the domestic network is also being maintained. Yurtici Kargo opened a newIstanbul regional office in January, its fourth to cover the metropolis. Last November it opened a5,000 sqm depot in Trabzon on the Black Sea coast to serve the city and surrounding region. About5-10 small local branches are planned to be opened during 2009. The company has a nationwidenetwork of 17 regional offices, 30 hubs and more than 725 branches in over 80 towns and cities.
Yurtici Kargo is seeing rising volumes of B2C parcels due to the growth of internet sales inTurkey, Ülseven said. One popular product is its cash-on-delivery (COD) service for parceldeliveries since Turks generally do not trust giving credit card information on the internet, hepointed out. An innovative service is the “day preferential” delivery option where customers selecta specific day for delivery, such as a birthday, he added.
The company, founded in 1982, benefits from strong brand awareness and customer satisfaction.In 2007 it beat its major competitors in terms of customer satisfaction in the Turkey CustomerSatisfaction Index, and picked up Superbrand awards in both 2007 and 2008. It offers high qualityperformance with very low loss, damage and wrong arrival ratios, and strong operational IT systemsincluding tracking and notification by SMS.
For its small international business, Yurtici Kargo cooperates with DPD. The company aims toincrease international sales by more cross-selling of domestic and international services to itscustomer base, Ülseven said.
