TNT today stepped up its e-commerce growth strategy with the acquisition of a Dutch e-retailspecialist while CEO Peter Bakker has reiterated the group’s mail restructuring plans.
TNT Post has bought e-retail specialist Kowin to add expertise to its e-commerce chain in thefield of online shopping and to strengthen its capabilities as a one-stop service provider in thevastly growing online market. The parties agreed not to disclose the financial details of thetransaction.
Amsterdam-based Kowin is a Dutch e-commerce solution provider with extensive know-how in thefield of online shopping and is a one stop service provider for the full chain, TNT said. Over thelast decade the company has gained valuable expertise in how to draw online customers to a webshop, how to effectively sell a product and how to organise the after sale service, for examplewith regards to return shipments. Kowin services well known Dutch brands in successfullyimplementing full e-commerce solutions.
TNT had already bought Dutch e-fulfilment specialist TopPak in February. TopPak, with revenuesof approximately €10 million and some 6 million packages per year, operates a warehouse with 17,000pallet positions and offers a range of services including storage, packaging, distribution, returnsand data services.
The latest acquisition is in line with the group’s Vision 2015 strategy, TNT said. TNT Postwants to become market leader in the full e-commerce chain. This includes online marketing,e-retail activities such as managing and facilitating web shops and online payment, ande-fulfillment, which covers the physical delivery and post-delivery customer service.
The expertise will enable TNT Post to develop the required capabilities for the entiree-commerce chain faster and to quickly expand its offering to new industries and markets. On top ofthis Kowin will support TNT Post’s current successful online retail initiatives under the label ofSjopze.
Meanwhile, in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, TNT CEO Peter Bakker has reiteratedthe group’s plans to reduce mail deliveries in the Netherlands from six to three days a week, tofocus only on three other European mail markets (Germany, UK, Italy) and to consider spinning offthe entire mail business. “What comes out at the end is open,” he declared. “The mail service couldbe floated on the stock exchange as a new company, we might find partners or seek an investor as abuyer.”
Asked about Deutsche Post’s forthcoming secure online letter, Bakker said he was “sceptical”whether electronic mail services “can save the jobs of postmen and postwomen”. “People are used toe-mail being free. They will not want to pay the Post anything for this,” he commented.
On the latest speculation that a future TNT, based on the express business and without the mailactivities, might be acquired by UPS or FedEx, Bakker stressed that this would have to be done viaa takeover offer on the stock exchange. “I can only say that TNT does not have to be acquired inorder to carry out its growth programme,” he concluded.
