De Post-La Poste rebrands as ‘bpost’

De Post–La Poste, the Belgian national postal operator, has rebranded as ‘bpost’. The name change reflects the modernisation of the business over the past ten years, and will be implemented in September – months before the full liberalisation of the postal market in Europe.

The company’s corporate visual identity, including logo, will also be modernised

Johnny Thijs, CEO, said: “The new name conveys our two basic characteristics. We are and will remain a postal company, and we have and will maintain strong roots in our home market. We now also have one single name, which will differentiate us internationally.”

Thijs went on to stress that the change of name and logo does not signify a break with the rich history of the company.

It has proved to be a busy week for Thijs, after he collected the Industry Leadership Award at the World Mail Awards 2010 in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

A De Post-La Poste statement said: “The company has experienced a complete transformation in the past decade. Dozens of change projects have been rolled out to improve service quality and the efficiency of procedures. The corporate culture has also evolved towards greater customer-focus and competitiveness.

“The postal market as a whole is also witnessing change. Large parts of that market have been liberalised in recent years. The last remaining monopoly will be broken in 2011 to create a completely open postal market in Belgium and the rest of the European Union. With the raft of change projects over the past decade, De Post-La Poste is now ready for D-day on 1 January next year.

“De Post-La Poste feels this is the right time to clearly signal the arrival of the new post.”

Will the rebranding prove to be a success? Is it the right choice of name? Please comment below…