Post Office to address world with new name

Post Office to address world with new name
From THE TIMES, January 10th, 2001
Valerie Elliott

THE Post Office has eschewed any link with Britain or the Crown in choosing a new corporate name intended to help its global business plans.
Consignia, the new name and logo to be introduced in March at a cost of about Pounds 2million, was chosen after European businessmen had said that the title suggested a dynamic company involved in e-commerce, distribution or financial services, all of which are target expansion areas for the Post Office.
At home, however, those most involved in post office business – postal workers and sub-postmasters – were confounded by the move. They were surprised that the Post Office had not learnt the lessons of British Airways, which under Bob Ayling, the former chief executive, dropped the Union Jack from the tailfins of the company’s aircraft. That change proved so unpopular with passengers that the emblem was restored last year.
The new logo will appear on stationery, signs and buildings but there will be no rebranding or new uniforms for the Post Office network, Royal Mail or ParcelForce Worldwide. The Communications Workers’ Union is so angry that it is to mount a national campaign to demand that the Post Office Board reconsider the change. Senior officials are to lobby Stephen Byers, the Trade and Industry Secretary, and MPs, and one union source said they hoped to raise enough support to make it a general election issue.
The Post Office is confident, however, that the new name will boost its business plans when the organisation becomes a Government-owned private company, Consignia plc, from March 26, with greater freedom to compete worldwide and to borrow and invest in services.
John Roberts, chief executive, said yesterday: “To consign means to entrust to the care of, which is what each of our customers does every day.
The new name describes the full scope of what the Post Office does in a way that the words post and office cannot.”
He said that the name would be noticed by other corporate clients in financial services, telecommunications, home shopping, utilities and advertising, which accounts for a third of the annual Pounds 7.5billion turnover.
John Keggie, deputy general secretary of the Communications Workers’ Union, was unimpressed by the new name and accused the Post Office of “dumping” on 350 years of history. He described the whole exercise as rushed and confused and said: “It sends all the wrong signals. We should be trading on the British Post Office’s worldwide reputation for honesty and integrity.”
The National Federation of Sub-Postmasters raised concerns about the cost of the exercise. Colin Baker, the general secretary, accepted that a new name might have some value abroad in enabling the Post Office to distinguish itself from other national post offices. “But it is going to cost a lot of money and I can’t see the change having much effect in the UK. It won’t mean much to many people,” he said.
The Consumer Council for Postal Services, the new consumer body for postal services, backed the change and said that it would help the organisation to compete worldwide. Peter Carr, the chairman, said that most people would hardly notice the change and that it was more significant for the business world.
The council gave warning, however, that the public would not tolerate any price increases to fund the name change. Stephen Harris, the council’s deputy chief executive said: “The standard of service delivered by Royal Mail is deteriorating and in these circumstances a price rise would be unacceptable.”
He said that the mail service had consistently failed to meet its 92.5 per cent target of first-class post by 9.30am the following day. The Post Office has already expanded its portfolio of interests and among its recent deals are a 49 per cent stake in Cashtec, which services cash machines in Britain.
In France it has bought Extend, a leading express parcel delivery operator, and the Crie group of companies, which offers an express mail service. In Germamy it has four companies, two parcel operations, Domberger Paket Dienst and Deutscher Paket Dienst Dachser, the German carrier German Parcel, and Der Kurier express parcel service.
The Post office has also acquired Citipost, a delivery service based in New York.
© Times Newspapers Ltd, 2001

THE TIMES, 10th January 2001