Courier YTO Express on fast route to riches

A Shanghai YTO Express (Logistics) Co Ltd aircraft gets ready to take off at Xiaoshan airport in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. YTO plans to expand its air cargo operations in the future. It is already the largest express delivery business by market share in China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

From a small courier in 2000, the Shanghai group now has 20,000 delivery centers across China and employs up to 220,000 workers

Yu Weijiao has turned Shanghai YTO Express (Logistics) Co Ltd into a powerhouse group generating billions of yuan in revenue.

From a small courier company in 2000, it is now the largest express delivery business by market share in China after cashing in on the booming e-commerce industry.

In Beijing alone, YTO has 84 centers and 20,000 country-wide as the group takes advantage of the government's decision to realign the economy from cheap, mass-produced exports toward more sustainable consumer-fuelled domestic growth.

Last year, companies such as YTO delivered 14 billion packages as China raced ahead of the United States in the sector for the first time, Ma Junsheng, chief of the State Post Bureau, revealed.

Revenue topped 204 billion yuan ($37.79 billion), up 42 percent compared to the same period in 2013, an "amazing achievement" during a time of slowing economic activity.

"We have become the No 1 express delivery service in the country and provide more opportunities for other businesses involved in the sector," Yu, chairman at YTO, said.

"In 2014, up to 19 billion yuan was indirectly generated by express delivery services, and that figure is expected to reach 60 billion yuan by 2020."

Yu, 49, who was born in Tonglu county, Zhejiang province, has been the driving force in turning a small firm into an express delivery empire in just 15 years.

The data charting YTO's growth illustrates the group's rapid rise.

During Singles Day this year, the country's biggest online sales festival on Nov 11, the company received a record-breaking 53.28 million orders across China.

Up to 30.59 million packages were handled, or roughly 21 percent of the industry's total.

Expansion has been the key to YTO's success. Last month, the company rolled out new headquarters in Shanghai, costing 600 million yuan.

But then the glitzy headquarters is a far cry from YTO's humble beginnings in 2000 when it was launched with an investment of just 50,000 yuan and employed only 17 staff.