Expressway to success

Ramping up its retail network, DHL is forming alliances to provide convenience and value to its customers. Chandrashekhar Pitre, Area Head – Marketing, South Asia talks about the company and its retail ventures.

Neha Malhotra (NM): Can you brief us about DHL?
Chandrashekhar Pitre (CP): DHL India offers customers comprehensive logistics solutions through their four business units: DHL Express, DHL Global Forwarding, DHL Supply Chain and Blue Dart. With a majority of stake (81 per cent) in Blue Dart, DHL has unmatched domestic network across over 21,000 locations pan India. 

NM: How widespread is DHL’s retail network?
CP: With over 350 DHL – Blue Dart exclusive retail outlets (150 DHL Express and 200 Blue Dart) in India, DHL has the largest retail network providing greater accessibility, reach and convenience to customers across India.  
 

NM: What are the latest updates on retail formats from DHL?
CP: There is a recent collaboration with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) for a retail alliance with their In&Out convenience stores across India. This will aid them to roll out across 25 locations in India which will further be extended to cover tier II and tier III cities. Similar tie ups have been initiated with 24/7 departmental stores only in Delhi, Office Linc and others. Such alliances help DHL cut down greatly on their costs at the same time gives the consumer benefit of more services under one roof.

NM: What kind of retail approaches are you looking at?
CP: DHL is exploring various retail approaches through Shop-in-Shop and real estate tie ups.

NM: How is your retail format different from your competitors?
CP: DHL’s retail focus has been a strong service differentiator amongst its peers and is primarily driven by its focus on increasing reach and relevance for customers.