Specials - ITJ | Transport Journal

32 Forwarding & Logistics International Transport Journal 35-36 2013Geodis Wilson banking on expansion in emerging marketsThe future lies outside EuropeGeodis Wilson, a logistics subsidiary of the French transport and logistics group Geodis, has developed into an importantglobal service provider. The ITJ’s Robert Altermatt spoke to Kim Pedersen, Geodis Wilson’s Danish executive vice-president,about the state of the company and its future prospects.Kim Pedersen, Geodis Wilson’s executive vice-president.What is your latest corporate news topresent our readers with, Mr Pedersen?Well, maybe we can say that the fact thatI became Geodis Wilson’s executive vicepresidenton 1 March this year is relevantnews, at least in such regard that in thisrelatively short time, I’ve made a newmark on the firm in the way of doingbusiness. What this means is that we’reseeking answers to questions concerningthe activities that Geodis Wilson needsto develop, questions about where do wewant to invest in future, and how much?The answer in a nutshell is that wewant to and will gradually see growthcoming from outside Europe. NaturallyGeodis Wilson will not quit Europe completely,for 65% of our activities still takeplace in this region of the world. I’m verysure, however, that the future holds exactlythe opposite equation for us, namelythat around 65% of our business activitieswill be carried out outside Europe in thecoming years.Which regions of the world or whichcountries is Geodis Wilson set to focuson mainly?We’ll increasingly extend our feelers toemerging economies such as Brazil, Indiaand China. Let me give you a concreteexample. One of our customers fromSweden has been doing business withBrazil for many years now. Because itsproduction facilities have been movedfrom Sweden to China in the meantime,the company’s entire business now takesplace between China and Brazil. What,in turn, does this mean for Geodis Wilson?If we don’t have our own strongpresence in these emerging markets, thenwe’ll simultaneously weaken our businessactivities in Europe too. Growth is currentlynot being generated in Europe, butrather outside of the old continent.To what extent does Geodis Wilsonbenefit from its parent company,France’s Geodis group?Being part of the large Geodis familybrings several advantages with it, themost important one being that, thanks toGeodis, we can offer genuine end-to-endsolutions, including warehouse managementoptions, road distribution, finalmileservices and international transportsolutions for every mode of transport.Geodis is a genuine multimodal operator,and we naturally benefit substantiallyfrom its comprehensive network.Photo: AltermattWhat is your assessment of GeodisWilson’s recent business developments?Basically, we’re satisfied. The enormousgrowth registered before the globalfinancial and economic downturn in2008 won’t be attained any more in myopinion, however. As I mentioned above,we now generate our growth primarilyoutside Europe. In India, China orIndonesia we’re improving in the doubledigitpercentage range, whilst business isstagnating in Europe. This will continueto be the trend.Can you still feel the after-effects ofthe worldwide economic and financialdownturn of 2008/2009 – or was thecrisis overcome a long time ago byGeodis Wilson?No, it isn’t over by a long way yet. We’restill feeling certain repercussions of thecrisis, particularly in Europe, where we’vepartially encountered stagnation or evenrecession, and thus increased fierce competition.My opinion of the current economicsituation in Europe is that thecontinent isn’t in a temporary trough,but that it has rather slipped into a longlastingrecession.The fashion and lifestyle segment, thatis to say the textiles, fashion accessoriesand clothing sector, is one of our most importantfields of activity. Developmentsin this segment are weak in Europe, oreven in decline. So it’s clear to us that wecan’t continue like this.May I rephrase one of the points fromabove here – Europe remains the mostimportant market for Geodis Wilson,doesn’t it?In case I didn’t make myself completelyclear before, please let me clarify everythingonce more. The network businessthat we’re active in is necessarily alwayslinked to the points of origin of the goodsconcerned and to our customers’ destinations.About 65% of our net sales aregenerated in Europe, and our activities