Gerdes outlines Deutsche Post growth
Deutsche Post will expand its network across Germany this year and increase its availability to private customers by adding thousands of contact points. The plan was announced in Berlin by Jürgen Gerdes, member of the Board of Deutsche Post DHL, who oversees the Group’s mail and parcel business and its retail outlets.
About 4,000 points of sale will be added to the 17,000 outlets already in operation across Germany. In addition, around 2,000 more letter boxes will be included in the current network of 108,000 units. The number of 2,500 Packstations will be increased by 150.
By further improving the company’s availability to customers, Gerdes said the company intends to build on the positive results of the latest customer survey: At the end of 2009, nearly 90% of respondents across Germany said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the services provided by Deutsche Post.
But many customers also expressed a desire to see the company’s yellow-and-black postal horn more frequently. Gerdes said: “By using this service campaign to respond even better to our customers, we are also underlining our commitment, to being the postal service provider for Germany, even in times of tough competition. It’s of utmost importance to us, to profitably fulfill our customers’ needs.”
Over the coming weeks, Deutsche Post will approach potential retail partners in its effort to use all types of businesses as sites for the 4,000 additional points of sale across Germany. These sites will offer the products most frequently used by private customers including letter, parcel and registered-mail stamps.
These partnerships with retailers have proved exceptionally popular in recent years thanks to their local presence and convenient business hours. The locations of the additional letter boxes and Packstations will be based on areas of regional demand.