Tag: Domestic

New Zealand Post and Salmat Limited of Australia – Joint Venture Proposal Confirmed

Posted by | Nov 2, 2007 | |

New Zealand Post and Salmat Limited of Australia confirmed today that they will proceed with a joint venture proposal for unaddressed mail distribution in New Zealand.

The two companies said Paul Forno, the current General Manager of Letterbox Channel, has been appointed Chief Executive of a 50:50 joint venture company.

As announced on 6 August 2007, the joint venture will bring together Letterbox Channel and Deltarg, the current unaddressed mail subsidiaries of New Zealand Post and Salmat respectively. The Commerce Commission gave regulatory clearance in September.

Letterbox Channel and Deltarg will continue their current business activities until a full operational merger between them and launch of a new, combined business during the first half of 2008.

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Canada Post launches in Second Life

Posted by | Nov 2, 2007 | |

On Saturday, Canada Post will launch a virtual city in Second Life, where online shoppers will be able to visit the 3D virtual stores of Canada Post’s retail partners and shop for real gifts and merchandise.

“There are hundreds of thousands of Canadians in Second Life,” said Laurene Cihosky, SVP for Canada Post’s direct marketing division, in a statement.

Maple Grove , the name of the virtual city, is being positioned as a comfortable place for them to visit because of its uniquely Canadian feel, she said.

“The post office is the center of many communities across Canada. That’s why Maple Grove is part of the Second Life community instead of an isolated island,” Cihosky said, referring to the practice of building on a separate island away from the Second Life mainland for which many businesses opt. “Just like your local post office, visitors to Maple Grove can visit Canada Post and send packages or buy stamps, cards and gift cards and send them anywhere in Canada.”

The city will include a collection of stores from Canadian and American retailers who participate in Canada Post’s lookbook catalog. The lookbook highlights a selection of products from participating companies, with Canada Post handling the orders and fulfillment for most. Retailers in Maple Grove will include Toys “R” Us, The Shopping Channel, Brookstone, SkyMall, Red Canoe and Everything Olive.

Maple Grove will be launched on Saturday with a six-hour virtual live music festival. The virtual city will host additional Second Life events throughout the holiday season, including concerts, film screenings and shopping events.

Many retailers are offering incentives for Second Life visitors. The Shopping Channel will broadcast a variety of special offers, Everything Olive is offering an eco-friendly gift tote with purchase and Brookstone will take USD 15 off all purchases of USD100 or more.

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DX puts Posties on the beat north of the border

Posted by | Nov 1, 2007 | |

DX has introduced a team of ‘postmen’ on the streets of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Initially, the DX ‘walkers’ will sort and deliver publications and important postal mail to city centre postcodes including EH2, EH3, G1 and G2.

DX has also just made its most important investment in Scotland to date, in order to cope with the ongoing increase in its business in Scotland and to accommodate plans for future growth. The company which opened a new postal facility at Rutland Square, Edinburgh, this summer has announced the opening of a GBP 1m state-of-the-art national hub and customer service centre in Livingston, capable of sorting up to 48,000 mail items per hour.

The company is best known for its Document Exchange service, a UK-wide pre 9 am delivery network for mail and parcels which presently boasts over 2,000 clients in Scotland alone – including leading law firms Dundas and Wilson and Gillespie MacAndrew. In addition, DX offers a range of alternative services including same day delivery between Glasgow and Edinburgh, SecureDX – a low cost alternative to Royal Mail Special Delivery* for important items requiring a signature – a door-to-door parcels services and regular deliveries of mail to the Highlands and islands. Yet, it believes the new Livingston hub will act to further improve the speed and accuracy of its existing services.

Says CEO James Greenbury “We’ve been delivering mail on behalf of our Scottish and UK-wide customers for over 30 years but introducing new services and a new infrastructure including walkers and our new Livingston hub means that Scottish businesses can look at a real, cost-effective alternative to Royal Mail for their mail and parcels requirements .”

* compared to Royal Mail Special Delivery Next Day (Pre 1pm)

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Logistics expert appointed new head of Nightfreight

Posted by | Nov 1, 2007 | |

A West Midland overnight delivery company has appointed a leading logistics industry figure as executive chairman.

Robbie Burns will combined the jobs of chairman and chief executive at Willenhall-based Nightfreight.

His appointment follows surprise departure in July of previous chief executive Steve Allen.

Mr Burns was founding chief executive of Exel Logistics and has held a number of board advisory roles at Tiphook Ryder, Tibbett & Britten and Hays.

He was behind the recent Burns Inquiry into freight taxes and foreign competition on behalf of industry bodies the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association.

John Aspin, who has been running the business since Mr Allen”s departure, will resume his position as a non-executive director with the Nightfreight group.

The company, which has been through two management buy-outs since 2001, announced in March that it was back in the black after a year of losses.

It posted pre-tax profits of GBP 4.1 million for the year to November 30 2006 compared with a loss of GBP 6.2 million the year before.

The company currently employs more than 2,400 staff at over 70 operating sites around the UK and operates in excess of 1,000 vehicles.

Last year it successfully delivered over 18 million items and has a turnover of GBP 140 million a year.

The privately-held company was founded in Willenhall in 1984 and still has its headquarters in the town.

Mr Burns said: “The UK express freight sector is both dynamic and competitive and has contributed greatly to the growth of the UK economy.

“Nightfreight will be another new challenge and I am looking forward to helping the team move further forward.”

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Royal Mail does not expect profit from letters this year

Posted by | Nov 1, 2007 | |

Royal Mail group has said its letters business will not make a profit in the current financial year, after revealing its 2006/7 profits fell 44pct to GBP 194m from the service.

Overall, the group’s operating profits, including its international parcel operations and the Post Office network, fell by 55pct to GBP 158m in the year ending March 25 2007.

Overall revenues rose 1.4pct to GBP 9.18bn, and letters revenues were unchanged at GBP 6.86bn, despite a 2.3pct fall in inland addressed mail volumes.

Chief executive Adam Crozier and chairman Allan Leighton claimed, in a statement issued with the financial results, that competition in the postal market had developed more quickly than the regulator Postcomm had thought when it fixed the price control for the company.

They claim competitors picked up one in eight letters posted in 2006/7 and will pick up one in five posted in Royal Mail’s current financial year. This is a level Postcomm forecast would not be reached until 2010.

Another point raised was that the average 13p access fee paid by competitors to use its delivery network does not cover its costs.

Looking at the first five months of the current financial year the statement said revenues are down GBP 78m over the same period last year.

The financial results drew comment from the Communication Workers Union, which after a series of strikes has recently agreed a pay and conditions deal with management that has been recommended to CWU members.

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