Swiss Post will “refrain from general price adjustments”

Swiss Post has released a statement to say it supports the Swiss economy and will not make general price adjustments for parcels and letters.

The statement reads: “In the coming year, Swiss Post will refrain from general price adjustments in the bulk business of parcels and letters and will postpone these to the following years. With this, the Post wants to relieve the companies in Switzerland. In the next year there will only be selective adjustments to special or niche products. Swiss Post will voluntarily continue the discounting of parcels addressed online with the price monitor for one year only.

“As the engine of the Swiss economy, companies have been experiencing extremely difficult times with the lockdown under Covid-19 since mid-March. Temporary closings, operating bans, special requirements and significantly fewer customers pose existential problems for many companies. Their future is uncertain, many companies are struggling to survive and their economic situation is extremely precarious. Swiss Post takes its responsibility as a reliable partner to the Swiss economy and has decided not to adjust the list prices in the bulk business of parcels and letters in 2021. Swiss Post is convinced that this is an uncomplicated way of helping companies. She does not want to burden them with a general price adjustment in the coming year.

“In doing so, Swiss Post is following the previously announced support measures and simplifications, such as rent reductions for transactions in postal real estate ( media release of May 27 ) or the Covid 19 bridging loans temporarily approved by the Federal Council, including from PostFinance ( PostFinance report of March 24 ).

“There will be only selective adjustments to the range of special products for 2021. These relate, for example, to unaddressed advertising mail, which is now being delivered within three to four days of receipt, or the chargeable option of receiving temporarily retained mail as a collective item on Saturday as well.

“In addition, Swiss Post is voluntarily continuing the discounting of parcels addressed online, which is limited to one year only with the price monitor: private customers will receive a discount of CHF 1.50 per parcel in 2021 for parcels recorded online and weighing up to 10 kilograms .

Adjustments in the mass business unavoidable

“However, the market and the Post’s own economic situation mean that general price adjustments in the bulk mail and parcel business will be necessary in the coming years. The quality requirements and coverage of basic services remain high, and with them the structural costs of the services. Letters and business at the counter have been declining for years, and low interest rates at PostFinance have ensured that Post’s operating results have steadily decreased in recent years. In the case of letter mail in particular, the volumes have shrunk over the years due to the digitization of communication channels – this has been the case for 16 years with A and B Mail unit prices remaining unchanged.

“In order for Swiss Post to continue to be successful in the future, it must generate profits that it can invest in its further development and basic services. The aim of Swiss Post is to successfully continue writing this traditional story and to be able to finance the basic service from its own resources.”