Deutsche Post plans to sell all remaining post offices by 2011
Deutsche Post plans to sell off all its 750 remaining post offices by 2011 and will then have a retail network of 13,500 outlets operated completely by private partners or its Postbank subsidiary. It has previously planned to retain about 100 “flagship” outlets as an in-house operation.
A company spokesman confirmed German media reports about the post office sales, stressing that the local branches would not be closed but taken over by private retail partners. The 2,000 post office staff affected by the disposal would be transferred to other jobs within the group.
Deutsche Post’s head of mail, Jürgen Gerdes, said in a statement that the German postal operator was committed to extending its network, improving its service and adding more products while keeping its retail network costs under control.
Deutsche Post, which is legally obliged to operate a minimum network of 12,000 postal outlets, currently has about 13,500 outlets. Over the last decade it has started to divide up the network into a three-tier structure with full-service “flagship” post offices, full-service postal counters within retail stores, and streamlined postal services offered by private partners.
There are currently about 1,600 “flagship” outlets. Of these, 850 are former post offices in top locations sold to financial services subsidiary Postbank in 2006 and re-branded as “Postbank Finanzcenters”, offering a full range of banking and postal services. The other 750 Deutsche Post-operated post offices, often in secondary locations, are those planned to be disposed of.
Deutsche Post plans to sell off all its 750 remaining post offices by 2011 and will then have a retail network of 13,500 outlets operated completely by private partners or its Postbank subsidiary. It has previously planned to retain about 100 “flagship” outlets as an in-house operation.
A company spokesman confirmed German media reports about the post office sales, stressing that the local branches would not be closed but taken over by private retail partners. The 2,000 post office staff affected by the disposal would be transferred to other jobs within the group.
Deutsche Post’s head of mail, Jürgen Gerdes, said in a statement that the German postal operator was committed to extending its network, improving its service and adding more products while keeping its retail network costs under control.
Deutsche Post, which is legally obliged to operate a minimum network of 12,000 postal outlets, currently has about 13,500 outlets. Over the last decade it has started to divide up the network into a three-tier structure with full-service “flagship” post offices, full-service postal counters within retail stores, and streamlined postal services offered by private partners.
There are currently about 1,600 “flagship” outlets. Of these, 850 are former post offices in top locations sold to financial services subsidiary Postbank in 2006 and re-branded as “Postbank Finanzcenters”, offering a full range of banking and postal services. The other 750 Deutsche Post-operated post offices, often in secondary locations, are those planned to be disposed of.
Deutsche Post has about 7,200 “partner branches” or “postal agencies” integrated into retail outlets offering a full range of postal services and basic financial services alongside the retailer’s core business. In addition, there are about 3,800 “Post Service” outlets, mostly in rural areas, where independent retailers offer a basic range of postal services.
Furthermore, Deutsche Post has introduced 600 shop-in-shop “Postpoints” for basic consumer needs, and is testing 50 “Post 24/7” service sites with various self-service machines for stamps, and letter and parcel collections. Gerdes said the 200 mail acceptance points for corporate customers would be extended to 1,000 by the end of this year.
