Tag: Europe

UPU Strategy: round tables in Montevideo and Vienna

Posted by | Sep 14, 2007 | |

The series of UPU regional round tables on the future World Postal Strategy continues. On 3 and 4 September, it was the turn of member countries of the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal (PUASP) to add their input to the next UPU postal strategy: Nineteen Latin American countries, as well as Canada, United States of America and Spain, recently met in Montevideo (Uruguay).

Another round table was held in Vienna (Austria) on 11 September, bringing together members of the Association of European Public Postal Operators (PostEurop). Like the other regional encounters, the Vienna round table also decided on priorities, in this case those of European operators for the upcoming Nairobi cycle, among them quality of service, the regulatory context and corporate social responsibility. PostEurop has yet to approve these priorities. The European Committee for Postal Regulation (CERP) announced that it too would discuss the World Postal Strategy before the end of the year.

Since the first round table, held in the Russian Federation in June, 252 participants from 107 countries have had the opportunity to give their views of the future strategy. The International Bureau has just sent out the first draft strategy document to all UPU member countries for comment. This wide-ranging consultation will enable all member countries, not just those elected to the Union’s decision-making bodies, to have a say in the discussion. Before being adopted by member countries at the 2008 Nairobi Congress, the UPU’s future four-year roadmap will be discussed at the joint sessions of the Postal Operations Council (POC) and the Council of Administration (CA) in February 2008. The future strategy covers three main themes: the interconnectivity of networks, governance of the postal sector and the development of markets and economies.

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Bibby Line Group acquires majority stake in Costcutter

Posted by | Sep 14, 2007 | |

Liverpool-based Bibby Line Group has taken a 51% stake in the supermarket group, including the previous shareholding held by Icelandic bank Kaupthing. Costcutter’s existing management team and shareholders – executive chairman Colin Graves, managing director Nick Ivel, sales and development director David Thompson, and trading and marketing director Angela Barber – will continue to operate the business. They will be joined on the board by three non-executives from Bibby Group.

Bibby handles the ambient distribution for retail buying group Nisa Today’s. Costcutter, which owns 28 shops and supplies more than 1,500 independent convenience stores, is the largest member of the group. The deal is believed to have valued Costcutter, which has a turnover of GBP 540m and earnings of GBP 13m, at more than GBP 100m.

A spokesman for Bibby Line Group says the company does not wish to comment on the deal. But Graves says it will secure the future of Costcutter and lead to the expansion of the business, which currently employs 450 people. He adds: “This secures the company forever and a day. Bibby is not into short-term investments. The main reason for selling was to secure the long-term future of Costcutter.”

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Post Office launches over 50s life cover

Posted by | Sep 14, 2007 | |

The Post Office announces its launch into the life market with its new Over 50s Life Cover, available now.

The over 50s plan builds on the Post Office’s existing range of financial services and offers affordable and comprehensive peace of mind to people who want to avoid passing on funeral costs or outstanding debts to their family.

Acceptance is guaranteed for everyone that applies. Only three simple questions need to be answered to receive a quote, with no medical questions or checks needed.

Customers can choose how much cover they want with premiums starting at just £7 a month up to a maximum of GBP 50. Post Office® Over 50s Life Cover offers higher sums assured than the leading products currently on the market and will pay out the full sum assured after just 12 months (see comparison tables below).

And customers can choose a free gift – a Freeview box, digital camera or box of wine – after their third monthly payment has been collected.

Post Office director of insurance Phil Ashkuri said: “This is the first of a suite of products the Post Office is launching into the life market. Our Over 50s cover is easy to understand and apply for, with guaranteed acceptance. We also offer our customers more comprehensive cover than some of the leading plans on the market by paying out the full sum assured after just 12 months.”

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A Conservative view on UK Post Offices

Posted by | Sep 13, 2007 | |

The Conservative Party’s Quality of Life taskforce report, chaired by John Gummer and Zac Goldsmith, was released today. It has some interesting views on the future post offices:

“Shop, post office, church, pub, and primary school – these are some of the indicators of a vibrant rural community, but few villages possess all five. However, they remain vital for the minority of the population – e.g. young people, mothers in one-car families, the elderly – who do not have access to a car. Conservatives should aim to minimize the closure of these services and stimulate innovative ways of providing alternatives for villages that do not have them.

Sub post offices play an important role in village life and could become again a vibrant centre for rural services. In the age of the internet, they already perform a useful role in mail order fulfillment. Their demise is partly because of the failure of Government to design modern benefit delivery packages that would make use of their services and partly the legacy of Post Office history where labyrinthine systems, a lack of interest in the network, and a failure to keep up with modern retailing was bred by a belief that the system had a God-given right to survive.

There are clear indications that the Post Office has changed significantly and would be capable, given the chance, of running a sensibly sized rural network providing a wide range of services in communities that would otherwise be without. Instead of complaining when supermarkets do not want to continue to house a post office, we should be redesigning the sub-post office so that it becomes a much sought after adjunct to a business as well as a business in its own right.

To that end we should initiate an independent enquiry chaired by a successful retailer and with full access to Government Ministers and Departments, to recommend innovative structures and technologies to make the Post Office rural network modern and indispensable. It should also be charged with advising Government on the redesign of its services so that they could be provided better through the agency of the local post office.

In the meantime, Conservatives should pledge to keep the GBP 150m a year subsidy for rural sub post offices in order to maintain the network while exploring radical solutions for service delivery in rural areas, which might include their being the agent for suitable local authority services, the centre for parish council transport-sharing schemes, and the provider of an emissions-saving means of taking services to rural customers.”

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Pitney Bowes picks up French firm

Posted by | Sep 13, 2007 | |

Pitney Bowes Management Services International reports acquiring Asterion SAS for USD 33.2 million in cash.

The transaction also included France-based Asterion’s two subsidiaries, Asterion Sud and Asterion Direct. Pitney Bowes Management Services is a division of Pitney Bowes Inc.

Plans call for Asterion, which provides outsourced transactional print and document process services, to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Pitney Bowes, continuing to operate under its existing management, officials said.

Asterion, which employs 740 workers, posted revenue of USD 88 million of revenue during 2006. Asterion employees are located at the company’s headquarters in St. Denis, France, and additional nine French facilities.

Pitney Bowes, founded in 1920, employs 35,000 workers. The company reported annual revenue of USD 5.7 billion in 2006.

Last week, Pitney Bowes formed a new software company by combining two of its acquisitions, Pitney Bowes Group 1 Software and Pitney Bowes MapInfo.

Pitney Bowes acquired Maryland-based Group 1 Software Inc. in 2004 for about USD 321 million. In March, it acquired Troy, N.Y.-based MapInfo Corp. for USD 408 million.

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