DHL announces massive China-related expansion in Chicago

A worker opens a truck at a distribution centre of German postal and logistics group Deutsche Post DHL in Obertshausen, Germany June 15, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

CHICAGO - Germany-based DHL on Wednesday announced a $137 million expansion in Chicago, partially to support the increasing DHL footprint from e-commerce in China.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, DHL's e-Commerce CEO Charles Brewer stressed the importance for Chicago and China to expand e-Commerce, one of the fastest growing industry sectors in the world.

Brewer announced plans of growing the DHL footprint in China after opening three distribution centers in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Three weeks earlier, Brewer was in Shenzhen to inaugurate the new distribution facility, which can handle 18 million packages per day.

"From a macro perspective, China accounts for 40 percent of global e-Commerce sales," Brewer told Xinhua.

The shipping company's expansion in Chicago includes a new facility north of Midway Airport in Chicago's South Side. The new facility can process over 2,500 shipments per hour, complementing an existing facility near O'Hare International Airport, and a helicopter delivery service launched in 2015 to deliver urgent documents to financial and legal firms.

DHL is giving back to Chicago's community by promoting local sporting events. FC Bayern Munich played at Chicago's Soldier Field on Wednesday for the first time since beating Manchester United here in 2004. Fans from all over the United States and abroad packed the sold-out stadium to watch the team play AC Milan.

The team will continue to play two more matches in Charlotte, North Carolina and East Rutherford, New Jersey throughout the week as a part of their 2016 North American tour, sponsored by DHL.

As the team's official logistics partner, DHL ships and delivers all of the equipment necessary for training and matches, as well as delivering FC Bayern Munich merchandise to fans all over the world.

Thomas Kipp, DHL's executive vice president of strategy and business development, said FC Bayern Munich had an interest in partnering with the leading global logistics company like DHL to make a much better experience for soccer fans in China.

"Traditionally a Chinese fan, and according to numbers the 90 million Bayern Munich fans in China were really left behind in terms of being able to order merchandise and other articles from the FC Bayern fan shop," Kipp told Xinhua.

According to recent studies, the proportion of Chinese consumers buying online from overseas will grow to roughly 350 million to 400 million by 2020, which is a huge indication of the potential and opportunity of the Chinese market.