Latvijas Pasts Plans Baltic Expansion Despite Saturated Market and Angry Competitors
The state-owned company Latvijas Pasts is preparing to build e-commerce delivery infrastructure in Estonia and Lithuania to strengthen its regional position and offer competitive solutions.
Latvijas Pasts, the only Latvian company among seven parcel locker operators in the country, plans to expand into Estonia and Lithuania. The company already has the largest parcel locker network in Latvia, including 40 lockers in less populated areas and border regions where competitors do not operate.
Expansion into the Baltics is a response to customer demand – both international e-commerce platforms and local entrepreneurs want a unified delivery infrastructure across the region. Latvijas Pasts already handles 4–5 cargo planes per week at Riga Airport, performing customs clearance for global e-commerce platforms. In the first quarter of this year, 52% of all Riga Airport cargo volumes were these customs-cleared shipments.
Competitors have reacted differently to the new plans. In Estonia, competitors have shown strong opposition, fearing loss of market share, while in Lithuania the reaction has been more understanding due to previous good cooperation, including mutual use of parcel locker networks.
The Universal Postal Union has ranked Latvijas Pasts 1st in Europe in reliability and among the top 10 most reliable postal service providers in the world. E-commerce platforms value the company's speed and quality and are ready to entrust larger shipment volumes after infrastructure is established in neighboring countries.
E-commerce in the region continues to grow rapidly – it is forecasted to grow by an average of 15% per year in the Baltics, faster than in Western Europe. Latvijas Pasts believes that export markets are the only way to grow and develop, and encourages other entrepreneurs not to fear competition, even if the market seems saturated.
