The week that was: 11 June 2010
Royal Mail could be floated, New Zealand Post to cut deliveries, and Canada & Ireland go mobile… There’s a carnival atmosphere today at Post&Parcel towers as the 2010 World Cup kicks-off in South Africa. However, if you are stuck in the office, unable to watch the football, fear not, here’s ‘the week that was’ to cheer you up!
Royal Mail could be floated on the stock market, the new postal affairs minister has been reported as saying. Ed Davey told The Daily Telegraph that the organisation could be sold, with the newspaper suggesting a figure of £9bn – which would be the biggest UK privatisation for two decades – as a money-raising option. Davey told The Daily Telegraph: “The truth is that Royal Mail’s situation, if nothing is done, will become increasingly dire. If we don’t transform Royal Mail, it will be dragged down by a lethal combination of falling mail volumes, low investment and potentially one of the worst pension crises for employees in UK history.” The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has urged the new UK coalition government not to throw away Royal Mail’s hard-won success by “flogging this cherished public institution”. Quick in response, CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: “This is clearly a major retreat from Liberal Democrat policy. Vince Cable and Ed Davey have given in to George Osbourne’s Thatcherite economics. The proposals to split the post office network from Royal Mail as outlined by Mr Davey will threaten the viability of the network, will wreck the service and will wreck rural and deprived communities which rely on the Post Office. We all know that privatisation leads to higher prices as private companies maximise their own profit ahead of any sense of public service.”
I don’t think we have heard the last of this.
With a similar plan being floated around the US at present, New Zealand Post is the latest organisation that could ditch its Saturday service. There have also been suggestions that it could limit postal deliveries to every other day. Chairman Jim Bolger told media that the company has not yet decided a plan of action, but is putting all the options on the table, also mentioning that the operator has to balance community expectations with sensible business decisions. The plans are being considered after New Zealand Post’s profits dropped by almost 20% for the second half of last year, with volumes falling by 27m. Unsurprisingly, postal unions across the country have expressed their disappointment at the prospect of cutting deliveries.
Both Canada Post and An Post (of Ireland) have made announcements concerning mobile services this week. Firstly, Canada Post is considering offering wireless phones and services at its 6,500 retail locations nationwide. New services would include cellular handsets and plans, with future potential for phone deactivation, recycling, and bill payment options. This would be an expansion of Canada Post’s existing portfolio of phone-related products as the Corporation already sells prepaid long distance and wireless airtime at its retail sites. Meanwhile in Europe, An Post has launched postfone, a new mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). It will provide pre-pay ‘any network, any time’ rates of 20c per minute and 9c texts, a range of easy-to-use mobile phones and accessible mobile services. An Post’s €2m+ investment in postfone, an MVNO with Vodafone, is the latest addition to the company’s range of financial and communications products and follows last week’s announcement of its deal to provide cash banking services for National Irish Bank customers. The company is targeting a 5% market share for postfone.
And finally…
Leading industry players will be descending upon Copenhagen next week, for the World Mail Awards and the World Mail & Express Europe Conference. For more details, click here. As media partner to the event, Post&Parcel will keep you up-to-date with comprehensive coverage from Denmark’s capital city. See you next week!
