NEW YORK, July 25, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Since conceiving the notion of establishing their own private postal system 16 years ago called the World Post Network, Universal Express Inc. (OTCBB:USXP) has expanded their once fledgling network to 9000 private postal stores able to service the needs of Universal Express Inc.'s customers, Altomare told www.wallst.net.
Altomare said he is "most excited about having a $9 billion retail shipping network in all 50 states in the form of private postal stores."
The company provides an end-to-end, luggage-free travel service to its customers, picking up suitcases from customers' homes, sending the luggage to one of their private postal outlets, transporting it by cargo plane, and sending it to customers' final destination, contacting consumer along the way, Altomare said. "The individual knows where their suitcase is even before they've departed, so they don't feel the trauma of a first time user."
The company recently earned a rating of the number one luggage movement company in the country by the Wall Street Journal, Altomare said. "When we started 7 years ago, we were getting 2 phone calls a day," he said. "Now we're getting between 140 and 200 phone calls a shift." Universal Express Inc. insures luggage for up to $12 thousand-per-suitcase, and charges between $40 and $70 per-suitcase for their service. The company is working on establishing a transportation service that will "assist (them) in moving packages and suitcases more affordably than (they) currently do," Altomare said. "Our goal is to bring (individual suitcase shipping costs) to $25 to $30 per-suitcase. As we bring the price down, we'll be able to attract across the board consumers."
Currently in talks with the Office of Homeland Security, Altomare said he is hoping the department will "consider having travelers travel luggage-free. We could augment money to the airlines, money to the postal services, and make the airport experience feel less and less like the old fashioned bus terminal experience that most of us are going through." He added that Universal Express Inc.'s luggage movement service would benefit the hankering airline industry, by alleviating much of their cargo allowing airlines to fill it with "paying products."
Expanding their network through acquisitions of private postal outlets, Universal Express Inc. is in the process of closing a deal that would "generate anywhere from $400 to $700 million of revenue," Altomare said. "With that revenue stream, we feel that we would qualify for another exchange (listing)."
Although United Parcel Service Inc.'s (NYSE:UPS) brand extension with Mailboxes Etc. had initially given Altomare's company "a great deal of grief," he added that "there is a substantial number of private postal stores that don't want to be a part of large conglomerates," such as UPS or the FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX).
Altomare said the company's "basic mission statement has always been that whoever has influence over the postal stores may also have that same influence over the choice of carrier that is to be utilized. The present duopoly of FedEx and UPS could conceivably get a run for their money from these private postal stores that operate a wholesale shipping shore with a retail overhead that, in many cases, are in the same neighborhood with the provider that comes to the store," he said.
To hear the entire interview, visit www.wallst.net.
About Universal Express Inc.
Universal Express, Inc. owns and operates several subsidiaries including Universal Express Capital Corp, (including its USXP Cash Express division), Universal Express Logistics, Inc. (including The Virtual Bellhop, LLC and Luggage Express) and the WorldPost(tm) Private Postal Network, Inc. These subsidiaries and divisions provide the private postal industry and customers with value-added services and products, logistical services, equipment leasing, and cost-effective delivery of goods worldwide.
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