FAN Courier ends 2022 with business of over 225 million euros and record investments of 31.5 million euros

FAN Courier estimates that it will end 2022 with a turnover of 225 million euros, up 10% on the previous year, amid a year full of challenges and uncertainties. The company continued in 2022 the massive investments in technology, digitization and alternative delivery services, as well as in the expansion and automation of HUBs, constantly strengthening its position as the leader of the courier market. 2022 is the year with a record level of planned and realized investments: 31.5 million euros.

In 2023, FAN Courier estimates an increase in the courier market by 10-15%, after this year it reached a value of 850 million euros. In the context of the advance of the industry, FAN Courier predicts a 15% increase in its own business for the next year.

"2022 was a year full of uncertainties and challenges, coming after another two years dominated by the unpredictable nature of the pandemic. This year, the biggest challenge was properly managing the increase in fuel and energy prices, costs with a significant impact on our current business. Because of these price increases, we had to increase the rates by 6-7% and introduce the fuel index for each shipment. The impact of the cost increase has been so strong that we expect a significant drop in profitability. We noticed in the market, especially after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, but also due to the price increases in the chain of basic products, a state of expectation and thoughtfulness among consumers, a state largely generated by the decrease in purchasing power. In the category of good news, we can mention an increase in customer interest in alternative deliveries - lockers, Collect Point, etc. -, areas to which we also directed a large part of this year's investments", said Adrian Mihai, CEO and co-founder of FAN Courier.

In 2022, online commerce had a weight of 60-65% in the company's activity, and the estimates remain still growing, especially in the context of the traditional discount campaigns in the last two months of the year.

Regarding this year's Black Friday campaign, most sellers had significant increases, which was also reflected in the increase in FAN Courier activity. The peculiarity of this year was that there was a decrease in orders for goods with a longer life cycle (eg: household appliances), in favor of consumer goods (eg: clothes, cosmetics, etc.).

The level of investments achieved by FAN Courier this year exceeded 31.5 million euros, the most important projects being the development of the locker network, the digitization, expansion and technology of several HUBs in the country and the expansion of the car fleet.

"This year, by far the largest investment we made was in the development of the FANbox locker network. It is a project that will have a longer implementation period with several stages, which we have already announced. In the first phase, this project required an investment of 10 million euros, which we did this year. We also continued the investments started in previous years at the HUB in Cluj, which we put into use in May, an investment that significantly increased the quality of services, as well as transit volumes. In the medium and long term, our plans are to transform the HUB in Cluj-Napoca into an international one. Also this year, we started the expansion of the HUB in Brașov, an investment that we will continue in 2023, and we equipped the HUB in Arad with a high-performance sorting system. In addition, at the national level, we have implemented card payment to the courier as well as other digitization solutions, which offer customers simple and fast alternatives to use our services", said Felix Pătrășcanu, co-founder of FAN Courier.

On the investment list for 2023 is the construction of a new HUB in Ștefănești, which will include a full-fillment warehouse, an office building and part of a courier warehouse, equipped with high-performance sorting and picking technologies. Also, the HUB in Brașov will be completed next year, which will be equipped with a modern sorting belt. Continued expansion of the nationwide locker network, as well as the purchase of electric cars and investments in sustainability are also priorities in 2023.

In 2022, FAN Courier increased the number of employees nationwide from 7,500 to 7,900 and plans to maintain the same annual growth rate in 2023.

FAN Courier aims to be the market leader in the Republic of Moldova and expand to other international markets

In 2022, FAN Courier continued development in the Republic of Moldova and aims to enter other international markets, starting from 2023. One year after entering the Republic of Moldova and after an initial investment of 3 million euros , the leader of the courier market in Romania has become an important player on the market in the neighboring country.

"The activity is within the parameters, although the growth plans have decelerated due to the war in Ukraine, considering that the Republic of Moldova is more affected than Romania by this conflict. We aim to be the market leader in the neighboring country as well, so we maintain our investment plans and we want to offer customers from the Republic of Moldova access to the European market, and those from Romania access to the market in the Republic of Moldova. For 2023, we aim for FAN Moldova to double its number of branches, so we will make important investments in the fleet and in the number of employees. At the same time, we are increasingly interested in other international markets and we will identify expansion opportunities, so as to offer customers from Central and Western Europe access to the Romanian market and vice versa", stated Neculai Mihai, co-founder of FAN Courier .

FAN Courier created the Sustainability and Impact Department

Sustainability is a strategic direction of development taken into account by companies from more and more sectors of activity, so that it is necessary to integrate it into the current business. That is precisely why, starting this year, FAN Courier established the Sustainability and Impact Department, in order to achieve a balance between the needs and interests of all parties involved - environment, employees, shareholders, suppliers, customers, etc. A very important objective assumed by FAN Courier is the neutralization of the carbon footprint by the year 2040, being the first Romanian company to sign The Climate Pledge.

At FAN Courier, the concept of sustainability is reflected in the responsibility of each employee, but also in the way of managing waste, for which the company runs awareness and education campaigns among employees in order to obtain an ever-increasing percentage of recycled materials .

Regarding the production of renewable energy, in the period 2021-2022, the company invested 1.8 million euros in a photovoltaic panel installation at its headquarters in Ștefăneștii de Jos. According to estimates, they will cover approximately 40% of own consumption, and the surplus energy will be distributed in the public network. Also, in the future, the electric vehicles in the FAN Courier fleet will be charged with green energy produced "in-house". Currently, electric mobility is represented by a pilot project of non-polluting deliveries, FAN Courier being one of the courier pioneers that has invested in this area.

In terms of packaging, FAN Courier is constantly looking for more and more sustainable alternatives. It has already introduced recycled cardboard envelopes into the offer and has also tested alternative packaging made from recycled plastic. The plan for the first half of next year is to gradually introduce as many recycled plastic bags into the system as possible, thus reducing the impact on the environment. The company also made tests in the area of biodegradable packaging, but these did not prove strong enough for delivery. FAN Courier is still committed to making efforts to identify and introduce packaging with the lowest environmental impact.