Natural selection?
Natural selection?
Read MoreTag: Europe
EU declines comment on report to rule against French savings account exclusivity
The European Commission declined to comment on a report that it will rule today against the exclusive distribution of French tax-free savings products.
‘I cannot make any comment,’ said a spokesman for EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes.
Agence France-Presse, citing unnamed sources, reported the commission will rule that the exclusive distribution of ‘livret A’ and ‘livret bleu’ savings accounts by La Poste, the Caisses d’Epargne and Credit Mutuel infringes competition laws.
AFP also reported that the French finance ministry envisages appealing the commission’s ruling.
In early June last year, the commission initiated infringement proceedings on the accounts, which are intended to finance social housing as well as private savings.
Read MoreAustrian Post Acquires Direct Marketing Service Provider meiller direct GmbH of Germany
Österreichische Post AG (Austrian Post) announces the acquisition of meiller direct GmbH (to be termed “meiller” hereafter), a 100% subsidiary of the listed schlott Group. The Management Board and the Supervisory Board of Austrian Post have already approved the transaction, which is subject to approval by the responsible anti-trust authorities.
meiller is one of the largest direct marketing service providers in Europe. The services provided range from the production of documents and mailings, dialogue services (e.g. CRM, address management and response management), as well as the further processing and finishing of dialogue media (e.g. binding and polywrapping of catalogues). meiller operates production facilities in Schwandorf (Germany) and Nyrany (Czech Republic), and is also represented with sales offices in several Western and Central European markets. Last year, meiller produced a total of 685m documents, of which 175m were designed for international delivery. Starting with its initial business focus on the mail-order business, meiller has succeeded in attracting top customers from other branches in recent years (e.g. Daimler Chrysler, E-on/IS).
In the year 2006, meiller achieved revenues of EUR 112m, employing a total of 1,180 people (business year Oct 2005 – Sep 2006). The enterprise value of the company as at March 31st, 2007, was determined to be EUR 60.5m. It was agreed by the parties to the agreement that the purchase price (enterprise value less net financial liabilities) would not be disclosed.
”With meiller, we are consistently pursuing our acquisition strategy along the value added chain. In addition to the recently acquired company Scanpoint, specialist for the scanning and digitalisation of documents, meiller complements the service portfolio of Austrian Post in the field of printing and direct marketing”, says Anton Wais, Chairman of the Management Board of Austrian Post.
“Based on the acquisition of meiller, Austrian Post has emerged as a full service provider for our customers. National and international customers of Austrian Post now have access to comprehensive services, ranging from the production of their mail items (e.g. invoices, account statements, official letters of notification, policies, mailings) and delivery to the internal processing of documents (e.g. digitalisation and response management)”, says Walter Hitziger, Member of the Management Board with responsibility for the Mail Division and the Parcel & Logistics Division.
In particular, meiller will be able to provide considerable support to the subsidiaries recently acquired by Austrian Post in the core countries of Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia, to assist them in more effectively penetrating these markets. At the same time, the transaction opens up significant new sales potential for meiller in the Central and Eastern European region.
Austrian Post customers with subsidiaries in neighbouring countries can now take advantage of cross-border services in the fields of direct marketing and document production by one single provider.
Read MoreDPD plans more parcel shops in Germany
DPD plans to build up a network of parcel shops across Germany to develop its currently small B2C business and take on DHL and Hermes. The move is part of a new strategy to broaden its product portfolio both in Germany and internationally.
“We have adopted a clear growth strategy,” DPD joint CEO Hans Fluri told German newspaper Die Welt in an interview. The German B2B market leader, with annual revenues of about EUR 1 billion, increased parcel volumes about 5.5% and turnover by 7% last year, the newspaper said. In the B2C market, however, DPD with 35 million shipments lags well behind DHL and Hermes (200 million parcels).
To expand its consumer parcels business, the La Poste subsidiary aims to build up its small network of DPD Shops. “Today we have about 500 DPD Shops. By the end of 2007 we want 2,500 outlets. By 2010 we are aiming for 5,000 shops,” Fluri said.
Although Hermes, with 13,000 outlets, and GLS (4,000) are much larger, DPD sees potential for a third network, he added. “Customer behaviour in terms of parcel shops is not yet fixed and will change. We are convinced that as a well-known firm we have a good chance,” Fluri stated.
Meanwhile, DPD now offers its international parcel distribution by air express to more than 220 countries through a network of cooperation partners, Die Welt reported. Prices are about 40% lower than normal air express rates, and transit times are 1-2 days longer. DPD recently enhanced its express service within Germany with new service options.
Read MoreTNT stamp price regulation workable
A proposal before the Dutch parliament to regulate mail company TNT’s stamp prices as part of market liberalisation is workable, the Dutch post and telecoms regulator OPTA said on Wednesday.
Analysts have said the proposal by the Christian Democrats and the Labour party, both part of the ruling Dutch coalition, could knock up to 10 percent off TNT’s valuation.
The proposal would set stamp prices for part of TNT’s mail business based on costs and a “reasonable return” initially, followed by increases in line with inflation in the following years.
The proposed amendment to the country’s new postal law would affect the “universal service”, which includes delivery of letters and parcels and represents a significant portion of TNT’s mail revenue.
A TNT spokesman said amendments to the law could still be changed and that the company would react only to the final proposals.
The economy ministry is working on its reponse to the various amendments and will send a letter to parliament soon, probably next week, a spokesman said.
Last month, the Dutch parliament again delayed a vote on the postal law, which is meant to end TNT’s remaining monopoly, as the economy ministry requested more time to study amendments.
TNT still has a monopoly on letters weighing up to 50 grams, representing about half of the 2 billion euro Dutch mail market. The government wants to open the market from January 2008.
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