The week that was: 9 April 2010
TNT’s big announcement, Japan Post expects first loss in eight years, and Canada Post counts cost of call centres… This week’s big news came from the Netherlands, where TNT said it is considering a listing or entering a partnership for its mail business. A company statement said that The European Mail activities will focus on value realisation through partnerships or sale and ultimately concentrate on the large countries where TNT Post has obtained strong market positions: Germany, the UK and Italy. Like much of the industry, TNT’s mail business has suffered in recent times due to e-substitution and dwindling volumes – with also the added threat from liberalisation. Commenting on the announcement, TNT’s chief executive Peter Bakker said: “Today we announce further steps in implementing our Vision 2015 strategy. These steps see TNT continue the transformation towards leadership in Day Definite Delivery services and furthermore aim to explore the best position for its Mail business for continued success, amongst others via partnerships or IPO. Vision 2015 is pursuing the optimal outcome for all stakeholders. Its implementation will require some time during which we will provide regular updates on our progress.” Company shares rocketed up 6% to a 19-month high, in reaction to the news.
Over to Asia now, and Japan Post said it was expecting an operating loss of 16.3bn yen ($173.7m) in fiscal 2010 – the company’s first operating loss in eight years. News agency, Nikkei, said the group has “increased costs to absorb parcel delivery operations of a joint venture with Nippon Express. Its planned liquidation is likely to weigh on the postal firm’s earnings.” In line with the world trend, mail volumes in Japan are likely to fall under the 20bn mark. Despite of this, Japan Post Service expects to make a 6.3bn yen ($67.2m) net profit due to corporate tax refunds. In Malaysia, the national operator is to raise domestic postal rates for the first time in 18 years. The price for stamps for standard mail weighing up to 20g will be revised from 30 sen to 60 sen, and for mail weighing up to 50g, from 40 sen to 70 sen.
News broke earlier this week that Canada Post is looking to outsource call centre jobs, which is likely to leave to 300 workers unemployed. The move reportedly forms a part of the company’s overall cost-cutting programme. Canada Post spokesman John Caines said: “Our current in-house approach to call centres is costly, significantly more than the industry standard.” The move has already been criticised by workers’ unions – with The Public Service Alliance of Canada saying the plans will “badly damage” the quality of Canada’s postal service. Furthermore, Richard Deslauriers, national president of the Union of Postal and Communications Employees, said the company is moving closer to “a complete privatisation.”
And finally…
There’s seldom a week where there is more than one ‘industry’ story that leaves you smiling, but we have been treated to an embarrassment of riches over the last few days. Runner-up was the news that mail deliveries to a house in Leeds, UK, have been suspended following a series of attacks on postal workers by a 19-year-old cat. (That makes the cat 93 in human years!)
But the winner is this gem, courtesy of the Metro newspaper:
“A first-class thief in Poland pulled off a series of raids by climbing into large parcels and posted himself to businesses – then climbing out and burgling them at night. Stanislaw Muchy, 39, would then make his getaway by sealing both himself and the loot in another box addressed to his Warsaw home. His scheme came to an end after he fell out with an accomplice, whose job was to deliver him to courier firms, who contacted police to spill the beans on the scheme. After being tipped off, police said: ‘We arranged a special delivery of our own.’ By which we assume they mean that they arrested him.“
