Belgian postal group bpost is reorganising its international activities and aims to become a worldleader in e-commerce parcel delivery services under the ‘Landmark Global’ brand, taking on rivals
DHL, Asendia and other major delivery companies.In future, Landmark Global, a US-based firm that is majority owned by bpost, will operatethe group’s international parcel and mail services under the new brand name “Landmark Global, abpost company” in place of ‘bpost international’, the unit that built up the Belgian group’sinternational business.
The reorganisation follows the departure in July of Peter Somers, former head of bpost’sparcels and international businesses, due to disagreements over the future organisation of thebusinesses.
Landmark Global, with nine parcel hubs in the USA and Canada, will integrate the currentbpost International subsidiaries, including the 12 facilities strategically located in the USA andCanada, the UK (London), Belgium (Brussels), the Netherlands (Groningen), mainland China (Beijing,Shanghai and Guangzhou), Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia (Sydney).
Dave Mays, CEO of Landmark Global, will lead the new organisation. He is a former executiveat Canadian express parcels firm Purolator and founded Landmark Global in 2005 to provideinternational B2C parcels distribution for US-based customers.
Explaining the reorganisation, bpost said it wanted to build on its past internationaldevelopment but be “even more ambitious in the future”. One single organisation, integrating thedifferent subsidiaries, would leverage synergies and their expertise and operate with a ‘parcelfirst’ mindset, the company emphasised.
“One of the initial and key steps in this change is the creation of a highly energised andentrepreneurial approach to the opportunities presented by the global e-commerce marketplace,understanding not only where the market is, but where it’s going, and how to capture the attentionof parcel shippers around the world,” bpost stated.
Bpost bought a 51 per cent majority stake in Landmark Global at the start of 2013 to expandits international activities, particularly to and from North America. In 2013, bpost’s parcelsrevenues grew by 52 per cent to €250 million due to the consolidation of Landmark Global, withrevenues of €39.6 million, strong volume growth to and from China and 7 per cent volume growth inBelgium. But international mail revenues dropped 10 per cent to €199 million mostly due to a lossof customers.
Mays said: “While we feel strongly that the path to future success lays within cross-borderparcel and logistics solutions, the international mail business remains important. bpost and bpostInternational were built on mail and mail still represents a significant share of bpost’s turnover.We believe that bpost’s international activities will benefit from its new common branding,combining the credibility and track record of Landmark Global as well as the strength of being partof bpost.”
Koen Van Gerven, bpost’s CEO, commented: “Building on our efforts of the past years, ourgoal is to bring continuing enhancements to our approach to international business and go forfurther growth in the international parcels business. I’m very pleased that Dave Mays accepted thischallenge, his expertise and entrepreneurship at Landmark will be key in future developmentsof our group business.”
In 2013, bpost had stable overall revenues of €2.43 billion and improved operating profitsby 8 per cent to €436 million and net profits by 20 per cent to €273 million.
