Rivals Urge Review of Deutsche Posts Letter Monopoly

Rival logistics companies have urged Germanys
Economics Minister Werner Muller to review Deutsche Post AGs
exclusive right to provide letter delivery services in Germany. Deutsche Posts exclusive right to deliver letters of under 200 grams
has been extended until 2007. Rival companies can only deliver
letters falling within this category if they are able to offer some
value-added service such as collection of the item for delivery or
guaranteeing next-day delivery even if dispatched after 17.00. Deutsche Post claims to be able to deliver 95% of all letters the
day after posting. But its competitors argue that this claim is
aimed at making value-added services redundant, and they also charge
that its misleading. The competitors, who have formed an action forum under the name
“More Color in the Postal Services Market” a reference to Deutsche
Post’s associations with yellow, the color it uses in all its logos. According to a study carried out by the GfK society for consumer
research, quoted by the forum, fewer than 80% of items posted after
midday reach their destination the next day. And the later an item
is posted, the less likely it is to see next-day delivery. Meanwhile, Deutsche Post said on Wednesday after talks with the
Verdi trade union, it had decided to postpone plans to revise the
boundaries of its mail delivery districts, a measure that would have
brought 3,000 job cuts. Deutsche Post spokesman Martin Dopychai said Deutsche Post and the
union will resume talks on the issue this fall, and the cuts could
still take place after then.
Copyright 2001 Handelsblatt. Source: World Reporter (Trade Mark) –
FT McCarthy. HANDELSBLATT (ENGLISH VERSION), 02nd August 2001