A BOLTON courier firm is motoring ahead and cashing in on the nation's obsession
with buying and selling online.
Parcels2Go.com is a worldwide delivery
service which is unique in the market place as its offers cut-price rates from the
likes of DHL, FedEx and Citylink.
Business development director Richard Mercer says: "We have been dealing with these
companies for almost a decade and they supply us their services because they know
we buy high volumes of business from them.
"For individuals who are buying and selling goods over the web, or small businesses
which perhaps only send out a few parcels a month, it can be extremely difficult
to set up a corporate account with these companies. But by coming to us we can offer
their door-to-door delivery services at a much cheaper rate than the ones on offer
to non-account holders."
The company, which has a turnover of £10m, currently delivers around 2,000 parcels
everyday.
Richard says that the move to close down post offices is benefiting the firm, and
during last October's Royal Mail dispute, business rocketed by 100 per cent
and Parcels2Go retained all of its new clients.
Parcels2Go was originally set up by Richard's father Fil in the early 1990s as a
transport business. Fil had been involved in a number of businesses and in the late
1980s sold a chain of video shops to Blockbuster.
The company started trading as F.A.M. Logistics and had five vans that delivered
parcels for small and medium-sized businesses.
In 2000, the company set up an online facility - Parcels2Go - and by 2003, after
the birth of eBay, it had replaced the original business.
Now, Parcels2Go is receiving interest from venture capitalists which are attracted
by the company's huge growth potential.
Richard says: "Statistics show that current online spend is around £42bn and by
2010 it is expected to double. Simply by keeping our customer service levels high,
Parcel2Go can match that percentage growth."
"However, we have ambitious plans and anticipate huge development for the company
and are currently in talks to fund this expansion."