Companies
When speed is not of the essence in delivery business
(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-23 11:09
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A worker handles hundreds of mail bags in a Beijing post office. Panda Slow Delivery, whose first store was located in Beijing's 798 art district, promises to send mail to appointed addresses on the mainland and Hong Kong on a specified day. This could be next week or 50 years hence, at a cost that varies from 29 yuan to 499 yuan. [Yang Wei / China Foto Press] |
BEIJING - In these days of instant gratification and the worship of speed it can come as a shock to learn that the latest communications sensation is not some form of real time messaging system but something slower. Something that takes "snail-like" into the realms of the rapid.
While emails flash along fiber optic cables in their millions at the speed of light and express delivery services sprout up on the mainland like e. coli on an abandoned tuna sandwich in summer, Panda Slow Delivery has found a niche in sometimes taking years to forward letters or postcards to the correct recipient.
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"Most of our clients are young people but old people also like us very much because sending mail is precisely what they used to do when they were young," said Zhao Yue, a partner and creative director of the company, which is also patronized by foreigners in the city.
It may be a Golden Wedding congratulatory card sent by newly-weds to their future selves in 2060, a letter praising a pregnant woman on her skills at raising the child within her womb or a note praying for academic success 18 years on when the prospective examinee is still in diapers. The only barrier is people's imaginations, said Zhao.
The mail is kept in China Merchants Bank's lockers. A few days before the appointed date, the slow delivery personnel will take the cards out and send them to the client on time. The element of potential future surprise is what attracts.
The company creates postcards carrying logos such as "Pass every test", "Certification of an awesome father" along with a variety of fashionable drawings by pop designers including Zheng Sinuo. People can also buy the postcards through taobao.com, China's biggest consumer-to-consumer website.
Panda Slow Delivery was founded by a collaboration of young people working in art, construction, law and accountancy. It started operations last October and was inspired by the late delivery of a postcard founder Liu Wei was sent by a friend from Yunnan. It took months to arrive but "that card really gave me a happy surprise", said the 38-year-old financial consultant.
The concept of letters to the future also featured in the Hollywood film The Lake House and its South Korean original, Lover Untouchable.
Liu and his partners raised 200,000 yuan to get the 798 post office off the ground. They also opened a smaller one in a mall in Wangfujing Street at a cost of 100,000 yuan with an additional monthly rental of 10,000 yuan. On average, each store sells 20 letters a day.
"We didn't come up with the idea of opening the Wangfujing store," said Zhao. "The APM shopping mall kept inviting us because they thought our company might add an atmosphere of culture."
It took six months for Panda Slow Delivery to clear its debts. So far, the company, which employs 20 staff, has received more than 10,000 orders.
According to Zhao, 40 percent of the company's income is from postcard sales and the slow delivery service and 20 percent comes from batch purchasing. The remainder is from selling creative products and gifts.
The company is now planning to expand with direct chain and franchise stores this year. The loyalty fee to open a branded store is set at 50,000 yuan.
The company is considering undertaking appointed gifts delivery in addition to slow mail. A trial took place on Chinese Valentine's Day, August 16, with several young women sending embroidered silk balls to their partners as a traditional Chinese gesture of love.
"We are the first and the only company in Beijing conducting a slow delivery business. I believe this market will get larger and larger," Zhao said.