Spanish postal giant Correos has expanded into the Portuguese market with the acquisition of a local express company, allowing it to offer quicker shipping across the Iberian Peninsula.
The company paid €11 million for a 51% stake in Portuguese Rangel Expresso, allowing it to establish Correos Express Portugal in its first ever international expansion.
Shipping from 12 facilities with 160 people in Portugal, Correos will be able to offer 24-hour express shipping across the two Iberian countries to both consumers and enterprises.
It plans to introduce artificial intelligence platforms and automated sorting machines in its Portuguese operations.
Correos said it wants to tap into Portugal’s ecommerce market. The company expects overall sales growth of 150% over the next five years and currently has 55 facilities in Spain.
It recently signed a partnership with Amazon to use the latter’s last mile infrastructure. The company also recently partnered with Alibaba’s logistics arm AliExpress to help Spanish small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) export to markets including Europe and Latin America.
