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Losses of Latvia Post reduced almost five times in 2008

Posted by | Aug 26, 2008 | |

In 2009, the postal company plans to operate without any losses and to earn a moderate profit in 2010.

Last year, Latvia Post operated with LVL 14 million in losses. Approximately LVL 4 million losses resulted from press delivery in the countryside and another LVL 4 million losses came from sustaining post offices network in regions. Losses resulted also from an inefficient management and other factors.

Turnover of Latvia Post last year was LVL 44 million.

“LVL 14 million losses for a company, which operates with LVL 44 million turnover, is a disaster,” Krauklis said.

He pointed out that last year the increase of postal tariffs was delayed, which resulted in the company providing services for a lower price that the actual costs, therefore “problems have piled up”.

The aim of Latvia Post is to maximally reduce the losses this year.

Continuing to increase the efficiency of the company’s activities, the number of employees this year was cut by approximately 200 staff members. Latvia Post continues its internal audit and, as Krauklis prognosticates, the number of company’s workers could be reduced even more, however, he underlines, it only concerns the people working for the company’s administration as staff positions for postmen, operators, drivers and mail sorters will remain as before.

1 US Dollar (USD) = 0.47504 Latvian Lats (LVL)

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Co-op buys Somerfield for GBP 1.57bn

Posted by | Aug 26, 2008 | |

Co-op boss Peter Marks says the deal will provide “rocket fuel” for the firm
The Co-operative Group (Co-op), the UK’s fifth largest supermarket chain, has agreed to buy rival Somerfield.

The Co-op said the £1.57bn ($3.1bn) purchase would strengthen its position in the UK retail market.

Manchester-based Co-op, a mutual group run on behalf of its 2.5 million members, also said the deal was done on a cash-free and debt-free basis.

With more than 4,300 UK retail outlets, it employs 85,000 people. Bristol-based Somerfield has about 900 stores.

The latest figures from research firm TNS, show that in the 12 weeks to the middle of June, the Co-op had 4.4% of the UK grocery market, and Somerfield 3.7%.

Stores sell-off?

Somerfield is owned by a consortium that includes private equity firm Apex, Barclays Capital and property magnate Robert Tchenguiz.

They bought the chain for about £1.1bn three years ago.

Somerfield was put up for sale in January and the Co-op first expressed an interest in a possible purchase in April.

The Co-op may now be told by competition watchdogs to sell some of the stores it has purchased, with Morrisons, Waitrose and Iceland touted as potentially interested parties.

Co-op chief executive Peter Marks says Somerfield’s acquisition will provide “rocket fuel” for his group’s growth plans.

Mr Marks said the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, would “create a stronger fifth player in food and a convenience store chain with unrivalled geographic reach”.

In April, the Co-op said it would spend £1.5bn to revamp its business and lift its fortunes, after 2007 profits fell 46% to £195.5m.

The firm also said then that it aimed to double its profits over the next three years.

It expanded in July 2007 when it merged with fellow mutual United Co-operatives.

‘Big four’

Neil Saunders, consulting director at Verdict Research, told the BBC: “The benefits for the Co-op of this move are that they have a larger scale, and it propels them into a different league in terms of food retailing.

“Unless you have scale in the market, it is hard to compete with the big four grocers.

“Now it can compete more effectively, but it has to be said that the big four will still remain some bit ahead.

“For consumers, it probably means a slightly better standard of store. The Co-op has traditionally been better at that than Somerfield, although Somerfield has put a lot of effort into their stores recently.”

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Sony outsources all logistics to DHL (AUS)

Posted by | Aug 26, 2008 | |

Sony Australia will outsource the company’s logistics operation to a third party supplier, DHL Exel Supply Chain. The partnership with DHL follows a review prompted by the expiry of the lease of its warehouse facility at Chullora, NSW. The new arrangement will be effective from 19 February 2009.

Carl Rose, Managing Director of Sony Australia, said: “The alliance with DHL will provide Sony with greater flexibility in managing fluctuations in the demand for warehousing. As a business, it allows us to adapt to the needs of our retail partners across the country and reflect the seasonality of the consumer electronics market, variance in product sizes and weights, market conditions and import trends.

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Postal Service turns to YouTube to promote delivery products

Posted by | Aug 26, 2008 | |

The U.S. Postal Service has produced a series of videos and posted them on YouTube, urging customers to rethink their shipping options.

The direct-to-Internet Webisodes mark the first time the postal service has used nontraditional media to promote its services.

Called “Mark of the Eagle,” the series builds on a print campaign that asks customers to consider Priority Mail, Express Mail and ground packages as delivery options. USPS competes against private shippers.

In the first video, running just shy of nine minutes, an office’s laptop computers, shredders, Ethernet cables and other items come to life and begin revolting against the office staff. A USPS letter carrier learns he must deliver a package to triumph over the machines.

The service is posting the videos weekly on YouTube and www.markoftheeagle.com. The first video was posted Aug. 6. An RSS feed will alert viewers to the latest posting. Segments are available for downloading at the iTunes store and podcasts are available for subscribers.

The Webisodes were shot in high definition and the office machines shown were recycled from existing Postal Service stock.

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Romanian Competition Council approves acquisition of Curiero

Posted by | Aug 25, 2008 | |

Romania’s Competition Council gave RTC Holding, one of the largest distribution and retail groups in Romania, the green light to take over Romanian major courier company Curiero and its subsidiaries Curiero Express and Curiero Spedition, according to Mediafax News Brief Service.

The Council confirmed that the transaction does not breach competition rules. RTC Holding will operate the parcel and freight transport services of Curiero through its existing subsidiary TCE Logistica, another Romanian major courier operator.

Two months ago, TCE and Curiero announced plans to merge their businesses in order to strengthen their competitive position targeting combined revenues of EUR 30 million this year. TCE, the smaller of the two companies, yet financially a stronger one, recorded revenues of EUR 11 million last year while Couriero had revenues of EUR 14 million.

There have been several major transactions in the Romanian CEP market this year, including DHL’s acquisition of Cargus, GeoPost’s purchase of a 80 pct stake in Pegasus and the UPS buyout of local partner TCS. The Romanian courier services market is estimated at EUR 200 million.

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FedEx launches capital plan

Posted by | Aug 25, 2008 | |

Having a regional express hub just 20 miles outside the nation’s capital wasn’t quite close enough for FedEx Express.

With postal business now in the mix and a new plane in the fleet, FedEx launched 757 freighter operations into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport this month. The flight gives the tightly packed airport, located just across the Potomac River from downtown Washington, a rare entry into the all-cargo arena, and it gives the carrier the sort of quick reach to business and government offices that makes DCA a bustling passenger site.

The eight-times-weekly flight will operate just a one-hour truck haul from Washington Dulles International Airport, where FedEx has a full-service sort center and has operated narrowbody and widebody flights for several years at facilities next door to UPS and DHL.

The service also marks the “introduction of the 757 freighter to our fleet,” said David J. Bronczek, chief executive officer of FedEx Express. The company expects to introduce 12 757s into revenue service over the next year.

As the replacement for the 727, the 757 offers fuel savings of up to 36 percent over the older three-engine 727, while providing far more capacity per flight. The 757 also is significantly quieter than the 727.

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Correos invests 6.4m Euros in fleet vehicles

Posted by | Aug 25, 2008 | |

Correos is investing 6.4m Euros in its postal delivery fleet by buying French vehicles.

Correos said that 3.57m Euros will go towards the purchase of 325 Renault Kangoo models, replacing around 20pct of its current light delivery vehicles. In addition a further 160 Citroen Jumpy vehicles are also being purchased. The new vehicles have smaller fuel consumption and produce fewer emissions.

The Citroen Jumpy will be introduced in two versions to suit the needs of transporting personnel and mail delivery.

Correos currently has around 13,500 vehicles and the replacements will form part of a long-term plan to upgrade the entire fleet. The new models will improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs as well as increasing lifting capacity by more than 90,000 kilos. The move has been promoted by a need to optimise and reinforce the quality and accessibility of the Spanish postal service.

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UPS freight improves transit times to draw major markets closer

Posted by | Aug 25, 2008 | |

UPS Freight announced improved transit times on more than 1,200 traffic lanes originating in the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. This marks the second time in just four months that the heavy freight division of UPS has enhanced its network.

New two-day lanes now in effect include Chicago to Dallas, Boston to St. Louis and Philadelphia to Miami. The enhancements also expand the next-day footprint of UPS Freight. Shipments moving from Cincinnati to Memphis and Columbus, Ohio, to Charlotte, N.C., now will deliver overnight.

Other originating major markets with reduced transit times include Cleveland, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, New York City and Newark, N.J. The faster transit times will bring cities as far as southern California, Arizona and Utah to within two and three days of these originating cities.

Earlier this year, UPS Freight announced new on-time performance guarantees. Those guarantees will be extended to the enhanced transit times announced today at no additional cost.

In May, UPS Freight announced it had improved transit times on nearly 1,000 traffic lanes originating in metropolitan areas in the Southwest and Southeast to points across the United States.

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