“It was a very good half; growth came from all market sectors, from real estate as well as from online commerce. The segment of food ordered online is starting to develop, too. Five years ago there was no such segment for us, but the expansion of the range of foods sold online led to an increase in orders,” co-owner Adrian Mihai said.
The range of products sold online has diversified in the last few years, with consumers now ordering from electronics, apparel and cosmetics to books and even food over the web.
“Online commerce remains a sector that contributes to the growth of the courier service business,” Adrian Mihai said.
Online commerce in Romania saw the highest growth in Europe, 38%, last year, more than double the European average and estimates pointed to more than EUR2.5 billion sales in 2017, according to the Romanian Association of Online Stores (ARMO), citing a report of Ecommerce Europe.
To be able to handle the higher volume of parcels, FAN Courier plans to build a sorting facility in Bucharest in a EUR7 million to EUR8 million investment set to create several hundred jobs. The company is still waiting for the construction permit.
FAN Courier budgeted EUR15 million investments in 2017, which will go to the sorting facility and to its fleet.
FAN Courier’s revenue stood at 512 million lei (EUR112 million) in 2016, up from RON400 million in 2015, while net profit went up to RON89 million from RON74 million, according to officially available data. (EUR1=RON4.5680)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)