Australia Post delivers the goods
Who is Australia’s most successful book publisher? Or the retailer that attracts about one million customers a day? For most, Australia Post would not be the first name that springs to mind.
Innovation and cutting edge ideas are not usually associated with an organisation seen by many as just a monopoly-guaranteed mail delivery service. But by coming in at number one in the reputation index, Australia Post has outperformed some of Australia’s biggest and most successful companies and multinationals.
Back in the early 1990s, the doomsayers were warning that email and the Internet would chew away at its core business, that nifty express operators with inexpensive tailored distribution networks would target areas not protected by monopoly guarantee. Volumes would shrink, the best parts of the business would be delivered into the hands of competitors and post offices would shut down.
Instead, the reverse has happened. Since its corporatisation in 1989, Australia Post has increased its pre-tax profits six-fold to $391.9 million in 1999/00. Another increase is expected when it reports its annual profit this week. In 1990, its proportion of wages to revenue was 67 per cent. It is now 44 per cent.
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