Tesco snubs UK Royal Mail in DHL trial

Tesco has delivered a warning shot to Royal Mail by handing rival DHL Global Mail a major tranche of its Clubcard direct mail business, as part of a trial.

Although the Clubcard account is not huge in terms of mail volumes – the retailer mails its 12 million members every three months and sends a raft of customer magazines – it is a prestigious brief, forming the backbone of the retailer's marketing strategy.

The bulk of Clubcard direct mail activity is handled by EHS Brann, although Arc, Tullo Marshall Warren and WARL also work on the business.

A Tesco spokeswoman confirmed the appointment, but refused to comment on any expansion of the DHL trials.

Eight companies are licensed to handle UK post, following deregulation on January 1. So far, the Deutsche Post-owned operator has kept most of its client gains under wraps. By contrast, TNT Mail UK has revealed a number of wins, including Lloyds TSB and BSkyB, although this is predominantly statement work, not direct mail.

DHL is one of the few firms planning to create a national network to rival Royal Mail, recently opening a mail centre in Warrington, Cheshire. In the meantime, it will use Royal Mail's network for 'the final mile'.

Tesco, recently dubbed by the Forum for Private Business as "the King Kong of the high street" for being "too powerful, too greedy and too dominant", warned this week that the supermarket's business costs are continuing to rise at a "horrendous" rate.

Revealing strong Christmas trading, with same-store sales growth of 5.7 per cent (excluding petrol) in the seven weeks to January 7, finance director Andrew Higginson this week admitted that rising fuel bills and staff costs are affecting profits. So any cut in postal costs would be a welcome boon.

Tesco recently fell out with research firm TNS after it claimed the retailer has 30.5 per cent of the market. The supermarket claims the figures are inaccurate because they do not take account of Marks & Spencer foods sales, while Tesco's data includes increasing volumes of non-food items.

Tesco has delivered a warning shot to Royal Mail by handing rival DHL Global Mail a major tranche of its Clubcard direct mail business, as part of a trial.

Although the Clubcard account is not huge in terms of mail volumes – the retailer mails its 12 million members every three months and sends a raft of customer magazines – it is a prestigious brief, forming the backbone of the retailer's marketing strategy.

The bulk of Clubcard direct mail activity is handled by EHS Brann, although Arc, Tullo Marshall Warren and WARL also work on the business.

A Tesco spokeswoman confirmed the appointment, but refused to comment on any expansion of the DHL trials.

Eight companies are licensed to handle UK post, following deregulation on January 1. So far, the Deutsche Post-owned operator has kept most of its client gains under wraps. By contrast, TNT Mail UK has revealed a number of wins, including Lloyds TSB and BSkyB, although this is predominantly statement work, not direct mail.

DHL is one of the few firms planning to create a national network to rival Royal Mail, recently opening a mail centre in Warrington, Cheshire. In the meantime, it will use Royal Mail's network for 'the final mile'.

Tesco, recently dubbed by the Forum for Private Business as "the King Kong of the high street" for being "too powerful, too greedy and too dominant", warned this week that the supermarket's business costs are continuing to rise at a "horrendous" rate.

Revealing strong Christmas trading, with same-store sales growth of 5.7 per cent (excluding petrol) in the seven weeks to January 7, finance director Andrew Higginson this week admitted that rising fuel bills and staff costs are affecting profits. So any cut in postal costs would be a welcome boon.

Tesco recently fell out with research firm TNS after it claimed the retailer has 30.5 per cent of the market. The supermarket claims the figures are inaccurate because they do not take account of Marks & Spencer foods sales, while Tesco's data includes increasing volumes of non-food items.

Tesco has delivered a warning shot to Royal Mail by handing rival DHL Global Mail a major tranche of its Clubcard direct mail business, as part of a trial.

Although the Clubcard account is not huge in terms of mail volumes – the retailer mails its 12 million members every three months and sends a raft of customer magazines – it is a prestigious brief, forming the backbone of the retailer's marketing strategy.

The bulk of Clubcard direct mail activity is handled by EHS Brann, although Arc, Tullo Marshall Warren and WARL also work on the business.

A Tesco spokeswoman confirmed the appointment, but refused to comment on any expansion of the DHL trials.

Eight companies are licensed to handle UK post, following deregulation on January 1. So far, the Deutsche Post-owned operator has kept most of its client gains under wraps. By contrast, TNT Mail UK has revealed a number of wins, including Lloyds TSB and BSkyB, although this is predominantly statement work, not direct mail.

DHL is one of the few firms planning to create a national network to rival Royal Mail, recently opening a mail centre in Warrington, Cheshire. In the meantime, it will use Royal Mail's network for 'the final mile'.

Tesco, recently dubbed by the Forum for Private Business as "the King Kong of the high street" for being "too powerful, too greedy and too dominant", warned this week that the supermarket's business costs are continuing to rise at a "horrendous" rate.

Revealing strong Christmas trading, with same-store sales growth of 5.7 per cent (excluding petrol) in the seven weeks to January 7, finance director Andrew Higginson this week admitted that rising fuel bills and staff costs are affecting profits. So any cut in postal costs would be a welcome boon.

Tesco recently fell out with research firm TNS after it claimed the retailer has 30.5 per cent of the market. The supermarket claims the figures are inaccurate because they do not take account of Marks & Spencer foods sales, while Tesco's data includes increasing volumes of non-food items.

Tesco has delivered a warning shot to Royal Mail by handing rival DHL Global Mail a major tranche of its Clubcard direct mail business, as part of a trial.

Although the Clubcard account is not huge in terms of mail volumes – the retailer mails its 12 million members every three months and sends a raft of customer magazines – it is a prestigious brief, forming the backbone of the retailer's marketing strategy.

The bulk of Clubcard direct mail activity is handled by EHS Brann, although Arc, Tullo Marshall Warren and WARL also work on the business.

A Tesco spokeswoman confirmed the appointment, but refused to comment on any expansion of the DHL trials.

Eight companies are licensed to handle UK post, following deregulation on January 1. So far, the Deutsche Post-owned operator has kept most of its client gains under wraps. By contrast, TNT Mail UK has revealed a number of wins, including Lloyds TSB and BSkyB, although this is predominantly statement work, not direct mail.

DHL is one of the few firms planning to create a national network to rival Royal Mail, recently opening a mail centre in Warrington, Cheshire. In the meantime, it will use Royal Mail's network for 'the final mile'.

Tesco, recently dubbed by the Forum for Private Business as "the King Kong of the high street" for being "too powerful, too greedy and too dominant", warned this week that the supermarket's business costs are continuing to rise at a "horrendous" rate.

Revealing strong Christmas trading, with same-store sales growth of 5.7 per cent (excluding petrol) in the seven weeks to January 7, finance director Andrew Higginson this week admitted that rising fuel bills and staff costs are affecting profits. So any cut in postal costs would be a welcome boon.

Tesco recently fell out with research firm TNS after it claimed the retailer has 30.5 per cent of the market. The supermarket claims the figures are inaccurate because they do not take account of Marks & Spencer foods sales, while Tesco's data includes increasing volumes of non-food items.

Tesco has delivered a warning shot to Royal Mail by handing rival DHL Global Mail a major tranche of its Clubcard direct mail business, as part of a trial.

Although the Clubcard account is not huge in terms of mail volumes – the retailer mails its 12 million members every three months and sends a raft of customer magazines – it is a prestigious brief, forming the backbone of the retailer's marketing strategy.

The bulk of Clubcard direct mail activity is handled by EHS Brann, although Arc, Tullo Marshall Warren and WARL also work on the business.

A Tesco spokeswoman confirmed the appointment, but refused to comment on any expansion of the DHL trials.

Eight companies are licensed to handle UK post, following deregulation on January 1. So far, the Deutsche Post-owned operator has kept most of its client gains under wraps. By contrast, TNT Mail UK has revealed a number of wins, including Lloyds TSB and BSkyB, although this is predominantly statement work, not direct mail.

DHL is one of the few firms planning to create a national network to rival Royal Mail, recently opening a mail centre in Warrington, Cheshire. In the meantime, it will use Royal Mail's network for 'the final mile'.

Tesco, recently dubbed by the Forum for Private Business as "the King Kong of the high street" for being "too powerful, too greedy and too dominant", warned this week that the supermarket's business costs are continuing to rise at a "horrendous" rate.

Revealing strong Christmas trading, with same-store sales growth of 5.7 per cent (excluding petrol) in the seven weeks to January 7, finance director Andrew Higginson this week admitted that rising fuel bills and staff costs are affecting profits. So any cut in postal costs would be a welcome boon.

Tesco recently fell out with research firm TNS after it claimed the retailer has 30.5 per cent of the market. The supermarket claims the figures are inaccurate because they do not take account of Marks & Spencer foods sales, while Tesco's data includes increasing volumes of non-food items.