Swiss Post International (SPI), the international group unit of Swiss Post, recently announced it had acquired Global Press Distribution GmbH (GPD) in Germany for an undisclosed sum. SPI said the acquisition consolidated its position in the German export press market, the largest in Europe.
GPD provided services connected with the international and national dispatch of magazines and its German customers included publishers, printers, letter shops and other service providers in the publishing industry.
¡”The German press market is the biggest in Europe, with 400 newspapers and 200 magazine publications,” according to SPI. “By entering this market, Swiss Post is pursuing its strategy of establishing itself in international niche markets.”
Swiss Post said it already generated 20 per cent of its sales abroad and in its cross-border business. SPI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swiss Post and currently employs 1,200 people in eleven European countries, five major cities in Asia and in the US. SPI claims it is now number five in the cross-border letters market after Deutsche Post, United States Postal Service, the UK’s Royal Mail and France’s La Poste.