Year: 2003

UK Mail is the first independent mail operator planning to use Royal Mail’s delivery offices to win a larger chunk of the lucrative business mail market. At the price proposed yesterday many others should soon follow. Hays, which runs a document exchange service, Holland’s TPG, Germany’s Deutsche Post and Express Dairies all have either interim licences or seven-year licences to compete with Royal Mail. These allow them to carry and sort bulk mail as well as provide document exchange and guaranteed delivery services. Express Dairies can even deliver certain items on its milk floats. But none has been able to establish a national door-to-door network to rival Royal Mail’s. Postcomm’s proposed prices, which will go out to consultation, should encourage rival operators to hit the market hard.