Polestar bids for lead in UK direct mail
Polestar is spending over #3m in a bid to win leadership in the UK’s direct mail business.
Chief executive Barry Hibbert announced what will be a major consolidation in Polestar by bringing together four separate business units to form Polestar Direct and backing this by investment to include a ten-colour narrow width web press. Additional investment will increase Sitma mailing line capacity and flexibility.
With a turnover of around #45m, Polestar Direct is set to contribute almost 10% of Polestar’s revenues. It already handles some of the largest mail shots in the country with work for Tesco’s Clubcard as a prime example.
Graham Beales, now managing director of Polestar Direct, sees this as only the beginning. He says: “We have brought together business units with a knowledge and experience that is second to none. Now our customers can deal with one person, confident that all resources within Polestar are at their disposal. This can only benefit all parties.”
An 18-person nationwide sales team is to be headed by Graeme Selby, and to emphasise the importance Polestar Direct is putting on good data base management, it is appointing a specialist IT and data development post run by Craig Hall.
Mr Hall says: “My role has been widened from being in charge of our Nottingham site which has always handled IT, to looking after data processing departments elsewhere as well.”
The thrust behind this move is to widen the services Polestar Direct can offer to include selective binding and wrapping services. This is the strategy driving the press investment (the specific machine has yet to be decided) and the extensive additions to the Sitmas.
Mr Beales says: “We are determined to eliminate the concept that direct mail is junk mail and we will do this by ensuring our services are a `best fit’ rather than site-centric. Services will be backed by having available the whole of Polestar’s production power.”
The move by Polestar was widely welcomed at a launch event for the new division.
Andre Lahiff, head of commercial development at the Royal Mail says: “The Royal Mail is under pressure like all businesses, but we are bringing forward lots of new initiatives and developments and we look forward to being a partnership with Graham and his team.”
