UPS to invest $1 billion in Europe - CFO in paper
FRANKFURT, July 2 (Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc plans to invest $1 billion in its European operations in the next three to five years, mostly in expansion of its logistics centres, Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn told a German newspaper.
A big chunk of the investment will go to Germany, one of the express delivery firm's fastest-growing markets, daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung quoted Kuehn as saying in an interview published on Wednesday.
He said the new strategy UPS is due to unveil in November includes acquisitions, particularly in the healthcare sector where he said transportation of medicines has been a logistical challenge because they are sensitive to changes in temperature.
Kuehn also criticised UPS's German rival Deutsche Post for blocking UPS and other competitors from using parcel boxes the German company had been installing in front of houses in the country.
Deutsche Post has said customer response to the parcel boxes, which it started setting up earlier this year, were positive as books, electronic gadgets and other goods ordered from Amazon and other online retailers could easily be delivered right to their doorsteps.
(Reporting by Marilyn Gerlach, editing by Louise Heavens)