Tag: France

Publication of Postal Directive marks start date for real market opening

Posted by | Feb 27, 2008 | |

The publication marks the entry into force of the directive and sets the clock ticking for abolishing legal monopolies on postal services by 31 December 2010. The Directive is the result of a broad political consensus on the way forward for the regulatory framework of European postal services. The Commission will monitor and assist Member States pro-actively in implementing the Directive. In particular, it will pay close attention to potential entry barriers that would deprive users of the benefit of a dynamic and open market.

The mission of EU postal reform continues. Next steps will require close monitoring of the development of competition notably by national regulatory authorities whose role has now been strengthened further. Particular attention will be paid to quality and prices of universal postal service. The Commission services will assist Member States in the transposition of the Directive to ensure that postal reform remains true to its objective of high quality and innovative postal services.

The text published reflects the overall political agreement between the institutions and keeps the key elements of the Commission’s initial proposal and in particular: the accomplishment of the internal market of Community postal services via the abolition of the reserved area in all Member States; the confirmation of the scope and standard of universal service; reinforcement of consumers’ rights and upgrading of the role of national regulatory authorities; the offering of a list of measures Member States may take to safeguard and finance, if necessary, the universal service.

With the removal of reserved areas, users of postal services can expect the services available to them to develop and further improve. In this open environment, universal service providers will be motivated to become more reliable and efficient and to further increase their customer focus in the light of potential competition from new market entrants. In line with the goals of the Lisbon agenda, full market opening will also directly foster the creation of new jobs in new postal companies, and, indirectly, in the industries dependent on the postal sector.

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DHL Express restructures French operations

Posted by | Feb 26, 2008 | |

DHL Express is restructuring its loss-making operations in France with the aim of making a profit in the country by 2009 and plans to appoint a new country manager shortly, Express Europe CEO Scott Price told CEP-Research in an exclusive interview.

“France has been the most challenging,” Price said in reference to past integration difficulties in Europe. But reports that DHL might withdraw from France due to the losses were “ nonsense”, he said. “I believe France is on the way to a solid recovery. I believe this will be a very good year.”

Price confirmed a report in German transport newspaper DVZ that the operator has reorganized into three operating companies, DHL Express Services, DHL International Express and DHL Freight. “I believe this is the structure to enable us to achieve profit there by 2009,” he said.

A new country manager will be appointed soon while interim boss Klaus Pfab, brought in last autumn to reorganize the company after two rapid changes of top management, will continue to play a role, Price said.

Asked about potential acquisitions in Europe, the Express Europe CEO commented: “I do not see any need for any major acquisitions in Europe. ” But there might be “bolt-on” acquisitions to extend the company’s position, he added.

Reports of interest in Romanian parcels firm Cargus were “speculation”, Price said. But he noted that Central and Eastern Europe was the operator’s main growth region, especially Poland and Romania.

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DX call for rebalancing of mail market in UK

Posted by | Feb 25, 2008 | |

DX Mail services has reminded Postcomm that the present VAT exemption enjoyed by Royal Mail makes the mail market in the UK somewhat unbalanced and since Postcomm has no powers to change this directly, it should consider ‘levelling the playing field upwards through the adoption of measures that positively discriminate in favour of new entrants’

DX argue that the VAT exemption status of Royal Mail means that rivals are at a disadvantage in comparison with RoyalMail, and TNT and UK Mail (who use Royal Mail for the final mile delivery) are able to take advantage of the recently introduced agency agreements to minimise VAT liability for their customers whereas DX has to apply VAT.

The European Commission sent formal requests to the UK, Germany and Sweden in 2006 with regard to VAT application on postal services and more recently TNT, the Dutch postal operator has raised concerns over VAT in Germany where Deutsche Poste AG also enjoys VAT exemption for 40 pct of its operations.

However, the German Economy Minister, Michael Glos, recently announced plans to restrict the VAT privalege, and the USO in Germany will in future by VAT free for competitors as well as Deutsche Poste.

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Spir Communication announces closure of Adrexo Mail (FRA)

Posted by | Feb 22, 2008 | |

Spir Communication has announced that it will close Adrexo Mail, its addressed mail distribution arm, after a difficult year. Group net income plunged 43.5 percent to 29.8 million euros in 2007 compared to the same period last year and operation income decreased from 42.5 percent to 44.5 million euros. Turnover increased 10.5 percent to 650.1 million euros.

The company said that its margins and last year’s results have been severely affected by the distribution networks of Adrexo Mail, an activity which was launched last year pending deregulation of the postal market in France and Europe. “This important strategic decision was motivated by the lack of clarity and stability of the market,” Phillippe Leoni, CEO of Spir said at a conference. “Spir stresses that given the lag from the date of full liberalization of the postal marketing in France from January 2009 to January 2011, there is uncertainty.”

He added that the group benefited from the difficult experiences of its European competitors in the market for the distribution of addressed mail. Leoni said that Spir chooses to limit the damage, and as a result this activity has generated an operation loss of around 18 million euros in 2007. The closure of Adrexo Mail will result in a total loss of less than 13 million euros in 2008. Spir expects to keep some activities, such as packages and relay letters, which do not depend on the opening of the postal market. This division has weighted on the results of the mail (distribution of printed matter, packages, catalogues, mail), which saw net operation profit plunge from 61.7 percent to 8.6 million errors despite a 23.4 percent increase in turnover of 303.6 million. The group remains confident in its ability to improve its performance in 2008.

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EnvoiMoinsCher partners Sodexi and Aramex

Posted by | Feb 21, 2008 | |

Air France-KLM express subsidiary Sodexi and Middle East carrier Aramex are targeting French small businesses and consumers through a newly-launched online parcels portal “EnvoiMoinsCher.com”. Prices will significantly undercut those of the leading global express operators.

EnvoiMoinsCher (EMC), which is targeting one million online visitors a month and 400,000 parcels booked through its system in its first year, announced yesterday that it had formed partnerships with Sodexi and Aramex. According to information on its website, existing transport partners include La Poste/Chronopost, TNT and Schenker. The portal, launched at the end of 2007, is targeting small businesses, online retailers and consumers, and offers transportation of documents, parcels, pallets and freight.

The online parcels portal said Sodexi prices would be as much as 40 pct lower than competitor offers. The express operator, which is majority-owned by Air France-KLM, would use capacity on the airline’s commercial flights and its network of sub-contractors to transport shipments. Sodexi, which has a 20,000 sqm hub at Paris CDG airport, aims to expand by building up a customer base of small companies and consumers, EMC said in a statement.

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