From the Bolton Evening News, first published Friday 27th Mar 2009.
A BOLTON online courier service says it is on track to boost its turnover by as much as 50 per cent.
Parcel2Go.com says a huge surge in business looks set to take its turnover this year to close on £11 million with £12 million predicted next year.
The company says the recent increase in business is because people are deserting the Royal Mail in protest at the wave of post offices closures.
The company was set up five years ago by father and son team, Fil and Richard Adams-Mercer and has grown into a multi-million pound business.
It benefited from the massive increases in people selling goods via the internet auction site eBay.
The company, a former winner of the Bolton and Bury Business of the Year award, employs 25 people at its Coe Street, Bolton, headquarters.
Business development manager Richard Adams-Mercer, said: “Our figures show that when the postal strike was threatened in seven regions at Christmas our business increased.
“Analysis of our data showed that in those areas, even when the strikes were called off, our business rose eight per cent, against an across the board increase of four per cent.”
But the company’s core business remains the increasing numbers of people using eBay both here and abroad.
The firm has struck up partnerships with the world’s leading delivery companies, including FedEx, DHL, UPS and City Link to offer customers a cheaper and flexible parcel service.
Parcel2Go.com spends up to £20,000 a month advertising its services on eBay and has also begun targeting customers in France, Italy and Germany who are finding it cheaper to deal with Parcel2Go.com’s UK site, thanks to the fall in the value of sterling.
Mr Adams-Mercer said: “Our £15k to £20k advertising spend with eBay pays dividends for us and gives good exposure.
“Although our turnover is increasing we have not quite hit our profit targets but we will keep on working hard at the business and we are optimistic about the future.
“When we started in 2000 we had a turnover of £1.2 million and next year we will have around £12 million.
“We are still working hard and we are not complacent.
“As we say it’s taken us eight years to be an overnight success.”