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Federal Express Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., has reached an agreement with Home Hardware Stores Limited that allows individual dealer-owners the ability to house full-service FedEx Authorized ShipCentres® within their stores, representing the largest opportunity for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground retail growth within Canada to date.
“The rise in e-commerce has presented both Home Hardware and FedEx Express Canada an opportunity to enhance our respective business models, ” said Lisa Lisson, President of FedEx Express Canada. “Our alliance with Home Hardware expands our retail footprint across Canada, giving online shoppers more points-of-access options to meet their shipping needs.”
E-commerce is the largest driving force in the global economy and is projected in the 2013 FedEx Annual Report to reach $1 trillion in sales by 2016. According to the UN News Center there were 2.3 billion global Internet users at the end of 2011, of which (according to the Canadian Press and the CBC), 25.5 million are Canadians who use the Internet every day.
In November, FedEx Express Canada forecasted that 60 percent of Canadians would do some form of online shopping for the 2013 holiday season. In order to meet the needs of Canadian e-consumers, transportation companies are required to offer more proximate “points-of-access” options for drop-off and pick-up services. With close to 1,100 stores across Canada, Home Hardware Dealer-Owners will soon be able to offer FedEx’s full suite of domestic and international shipping solutions for their respective communities.
“As e-commerce continues to grow, we are excited to work with FedEx which is a leader in the global transportation industry. This alliance will bring more traffic into our stores as well as increase convenience for all customers,” said Paul Straus, President & Chief Executive Officer for Home Hardware Stores Limited.
The FedEx Authorized ShipCentres will be rolled out across Canada in a series of implementation waves throughout the year.
