Express out to milk new postal service
EXPRESS Dairies said yesterday that it hoped to increase doorstep milk deliveries on the back of its new postal service.
The UK’s second largest supplier of milk and cream has won its first contract to deliver mail from businesses to homes, under the terms of a recently awarded licence from postal regulator Postcomm.
Tim Smith, executive director of the firm’s postal business, said: “There is a sense, certainly in the English conurbations, that you can’t get milk delivered to your door anymore.
“Along with the additional business we will get from doing the postal deliveries, we certainly hope to raise our profile and remind some of the lapsed users of our service that we’re still around.”
Express began delivering mail in Liverpool yesterday on behalf of ADM, a direct marketing services company. The first deliveries were books being distributed by ADM for an international book club. Further services for ADM will be launched shortly by Express in Manchester and Nottingham.
The licence granted by PostComm to Express in late July allows the firm to deliver up to 4.6 million packets and letters from businesses to homes through its network of 3,500 delivery routes across the UK in the next 12 months.
Smith said this first contract would account for “tens of thousands” of mail items over the year, but with several other deals close to being signed, Express would have no difficulty reaching the limit imposed by the licence.
Industry sources said a company that distributes monthly packages of contact lens fluids across the UK is poised to sign a contract with Express, as is another mail order firm dealing with children’s toys and games.
Express is one of several companies seeking to compete with the state-run postal operator Consignia – in the process of reverting its name to Royal Mail – to deliver Britain’s 80 million letters. Express already passes on 12.8 million brochures and leaflets to its customers annually through its rounds.
