UK Royal Mail targets businesses in multi-million pound campaign to prepare for new pricing system

Royal Mail has launched a direct mail campaign to help businesses across the UK prepare for the introduction of its new pricing system, Pricing in Proportion (PiP).

Packs providing information on the new pricing system, as well as advice on how companies can manage the impact of PiP, are being sent to nearly half a million small, medium and large businesses from this week.

The mailing follows a series of tailored mail-outs in December 2005 to companies in the marketing, publishing, charity and home shopping sectors who will be most affected by the changes

Pricing in Proportion will be introduced on 21 August 2006 and takes into account the size and shape as well as the weight of mail. It will mean that prices will more closely reflect the cost of collecting, sorting and delivering mail.

No more than 30 per cent of business mail is expected to be affected by the price changes, and Royal Mail estimates that up to half of the mail affected will become cheaper to send.

Lorna Clarkson, Director of Commercial Policy and Pricing at Royal Mail, explained: “These information packs are designed to provide businesses with detailed information on the changes along with a size guide template and pricing brochure which gives an indication of how current prices will compare with PiP prices.

“Our aim is to assist businesses with these changes, and to help them identify and benefit from any potential cost savings that can be made with Pricing in Proportion. This is an important phase of our customer awareness campaign.”

Royal Mail’s £10 million awareness campaign to support the introduction of Pricing in Proportion will incorporate TV, radio and press advertising as well as information in all 14,500 Post Office® branches.

And, later in the year, Royal Mail will also be mailing every address in the UK, both business and residential, to help ensure all customers are prepared for the change in pricing.

Further information about Pricing in Proportion can be found at Royal Mail’s website www.royalmail.com/pip or via a dedicated customer service line on 08456 113 113.

Ends

Issued on behalf of Royal Mail by Charlotte Nye, Cohn & Wolfe, 020 7331 5442, e-mail: charlotte_nye@uk.cohnwolfe.com

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Pricing in Proportion is being introduced on 21 August 2006 and will enable Royal Mail’s prices to more closely reflect its costs.

Royal Mail”s universal service – the geographic cross subsidies that enable the company to operate a ”one-price-goes-anywhere” system – will remain unaffected by Pricing in Proportion.

Pricing changes similar to Royal Mail’s Pricing in Proportion have already been successfully implemented by other postal administrators in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Australia, Canada, Japan and the USA. The following countries also have forms of size based pricing – Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and South Africa.