FedEx Kinko's Office and Print Services Inc, a branch under the goods delivery service provider FedEx Corp which makes, prints, packs and ships documents, announced an ambitious expansion plan yesterday.
The US-based FedEx Kinko's plans to open nine new stores on the Chinese mainland by June 2008 after it launched two outlets in Shanghai yesterday.
Currently, it runs 17 outlets in China since the first opened in 1997 in Beijing. Shanghai is now home to eight FedEx Kinko's stores, with the others in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
"The dramatic expansion in the near future is fueled by the burgeoning demand of small and medium-sized enterprises," said James L. Brigance, FedEx Kinko's vice president of Asia Pacific Division. He indicated SMEs, which needed to arrange documents efficiently but often failed to do so by themselves, were target consumers for FedEx Kinko's.
"Our ultimate goal is to become the back office for small businesses and the branch office for mobile professionals."
China's registered SMEs have exceeded 4.3 million and contributed to 58.5 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, according to the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.
A bigger FedEx Kinko presence in China will also help to integrate a market so far filled with small and unprofessional competitors.
Targeting cost-conscious start-ups, FedEx Kinko's prices are set at a level similar to local costs - 0.4 yuan (5 US cents) to print a one-side black and white A4 page.
A wide transport network of FedEx Corp also enables FedEx Kinko's provide a delivery service that few other competitors offer.