(Yicai Global) May 14 -- So far a total of 116 neighborhoods in Shanghai are boycotting Shenzhen Hive Box Technology’s smart lockers after the firm said late last month that it would launch a membership system and charge for storing parcels for more than 12 hours, according to Xinmin Evening News.

Online owner community ZhongYi initiated the consumer revolt. The platform and the owner committees of the 116 neighborhoods are working with lawyers to draft a contract template to further communicate with Hive Box and provide references for others, Han Bing, an official with the platform, said yesterday.

In addition to boycotting Hive Box, many communities across China have begun to explore the possibility of self-operated lockers. Statistics show that the sales of lockers on Alibaba Group Holding’s online wholesale platform jumped 14 times in the past week compared with the previous week. The number of buyers tripled, with most being residential properties, owners’ committees, and some startup firms.

A Nanjing property firm introduced free self-operated lockers for all owners in some local communities as early as 2014. They now cover more than 70 neighborhoods. The business lost money for the first three years, but has gradually managed to break even in recent years, according to Wang Zhigang, an official at the company.

Hive Box was established in 2015 by five Chinese leading logistics companies, including SF Holding. It has introduced nearly 180,000 sets of lockers nationwide, accounting for about 44 percent of the market. Its main profit comes from user fees for deliverymen and they generally did not charge fees for community owners.

But Hive Box announced a paid membership system on April 30 and non-member users can leave deliveries in a locker free of charge for the first 12 hours, but must pay CNY0.5 to CNY3 (7 to 40 US cents) per parcel thereafter, which has led to complaints from many consumers.

SF said on May 5 that Hive Box would acquire Sudiyi, which has the second-largest market share. The two will have nearly 70 percent of China’s smart locker market, further intensifying consumer resistance to Hive Box’s monopoly charges.

Hive Box has suffered losses since its establishment, according to data released by SF. The firm lost CNY781 million (USD110 million) last year, and CNY245 million in the first quarter of this year. Some logistics sector analysts point out that Hive Box’s loss is mainly due to the adoption of a more aggressive depreciation algorithm. The firm can easily turn a profit after the locker’s cost depreciation is completed.

Editor: Peter Thomas