Swiss Post International has opened an office in Oslo, Norway and introduced a specialcustoms-clearance option that will enable international retailers to sell directly to consumers in
Norway without the costly customs fees that have so far affected goods entering the country.Until now, Norwegian customs-clearance costs have made goods so expensive that Norway wasrelatively uninteresting as an import country for distance sellers. The consumer had to pick uptheir products at a post office rather than having them delivered direct, and at the post officewould have to pay large customs fees before taking away their goods.
Consequently, this made products imported into Norway less competitive, and also added anadditional financial burden on to the seller, Swiss Post said.
“It would be quite normal for a large proportion of the goods to be returned to the seller, asthe consumer wouldn’t want to pay the fee and so would refuse to collect them,” explained PaulTaylor, CEO for Swiss Post International UK.
But Taylor said Norway was potentially an excellent market for distance selling, with 92% ofhouseholds having internet access, and over 70% of individuals buying online regularly. Onlinesales in Norway increased by 20.7% in 2009-2010, and Norwegians have the highest per-capita onlinespend of any Scandinavian country.
“Being a forward-thinking organisation, we could see the retailing opportunities in Norway forour customers, but if we were going to take those opportunities it was essential we came up with aninnovative but simple and reliable solution to selling direct to Norwegian consumers without theextra fees,” said Taylor.
Swiss Post International has therefore introduced a special customs-clearance option that itclaims reduces the costs for customs clearance of every single goods consignment significantly. Inaddition to customs clearance, Swiss Post International also organises fiscal representation andpayment of valued added tax for distance sellers. Distance sellers using Swiss Post International’ssolution can now also provide consumers with a quote representing the total price including,customs clearance costs, when they buy.
“This makes it far more attractive for Norwegian consumers to order goods online fromnon-Norwegian retailers,” the company insisted, adding that Swiss Post International is the onlypostal company to provide distance sellers with this import solution to Norway.
“Swiss Post International’s presence in Norway is excellent news for the seller as it means theycan sell directly to Norwegian consumers without prohibitive import costs, and the consumer nolonger has to pay large toll fees when collecting the goods. I hope that we have opened the gatesto much greater and fairer trade into Norway,” added Taylor.
In addition to the new office in Norway, Swiss Post International is also present in Sweden,Denmark and Finland. All four offices belong to Swiss Post International Scandinavia, which employsa total of 22 people.
