Elbee Express, one of the leading express companies in India, plans to invest Rs 2 billion (EUR34.82 million) for its expansion over the next three years thanks partly to financing from a new
investor.The expansion plan includes an increase of the company’s branches from 132 to 250 within thenext 4-5 months, Elbee Express said in a statement. This will enable it to cover 15,200 locationsin India. The company will also upgrade its technology.
Nikhil Shah, Executive Director of Elbee Express, said: “We have an aggressive expansion planto double the number of branches in the next 4-5 months. Through this we are looking to provide awider distribution reach to our premium customers in Tier II and III cities.”
“We aim to be the leader in our industry in the next five years by deploying superiortechnology and setting new benchmarks in customer service. Elbee Express is the only domesticexpress company in India offering live tracking with the most advanced technology,” Shah stated.
Elbee Express signed up telecommunications firm Airtel last autumn to provide a newelectronic tracking system for some 400 delivery staff under a three-year contract. Airtel willsupply hand-held scanners enabling Elbee staff to record POD data and transmit it by the AirtelGPRS network to the company’s central IT server. Customers will then be able to track theirshipments on a real-time basis.
Shah told The Hindu newspaper that Elbee plans to focus on the domestic market but was alsolooking at entering the Chinese market through a cooperation with a Chinese company.
The initial investment of approximately Rs 250 million with an equal amount will be investedby two shareholders, Clearstone Venture Mauritius, an international investing arm of the US venturecapital firm Clearstone Venture Partners, and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, a well-known Indian equityinvestor. Previously, Kotak Mahindra Investments also took a minority stake in the company. Theseshareholders jointly hold a majority stake in the company.
“We are delighted with our investment in Elbee Express, one of the fastest growing expressdelivery companies in India,” said Jhunjhunwala. Rahul Khanna, Director of Clearstone, added: “Weare excited about our investment in Elbee Express as we see the company’s superior technology andhigh service standards giving it an edge over its competitors in the industry.”
