Tag: Mail Services

Dutch government rejects calls for partial liberalisation of Dutch postal market

Posted by | Dec 13, 2007 | |

Economic Affairs State Secretary Frank Heemskerk has rejected a request from postal company Sandd BV for a partial liberalisation of the Dutch domestic postal market next year, the Economic Affairs Ministry said.

Sandd said yesterday it sent a letter to the state secretary proposing that newcomers to the Dutch postal market be allowed to deliver a limited amount of letters in 2008, despite the government’s decision last week to postpone the planned Jan 1 liberalisation of the market.

Under a liberalised market, TNT NV would lose its monopolistic position in the delivery of letters weighing under 50 grams.

But in its letter to Heemskerk, Sandd requested permission to deliver no more than 50 mln letters weighing less than 50 grams until the Dutch market could be fully liberalised.

It said the partial liberalisation of the market would allow Sandd to meet contractual agreements that had been signed in expectation of full market liberalisation.

But a ministry spokesman confirmed a report in newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad this morning that Heemskerk rejected the proposal.

‘We can’t tolerate a partial liberalisation because we can’t make a distinction between one company and another. It is too complex,’ the spokesman said, adding that the government was legally able to postpone the liberalisation.

In postponing the complete liberalisation last week, Heemskerk said there are too many uncertainties regarding the postal market.

The state secretary will now issue an evaluation of the postal market at the end of February and if concerns are resolved, the market can be fully opened from April 1 at the earliest.

‘We can open the market on a quarterly basis,’ the spokesman said.

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Correos to double export parcel volumes in December (Spain)

Posted by | Dec 13, 2007 | |

Correos is expecting to double its export parcel volumes to 165,000 shipments during the Christmas period in December after a 65 pct increase in November.

The increase in exported parcels is mainly due to a 23 pct rise in parcels shipped by immigrants living in Spain to their homes in Latin America. The destinations with a major increase are Bolivia (+80 pct), Argentina (+38 pct) and Brazil (+30 pct).

In November, the number of import parcels sent to Spain for distribution within the country increased by 25 pct to 180,000 parcels compared to the same period last year. For December, it is assumed that more than 220,000 parcels will be distributed in Spain, coming to a major extent from the EU countries, especially France and Germany.

All types of parcel products are growing, Correos pointed out. Deferred and guaranteed delivery parcels are up by 15 pct while express shipments increased by 11.35 pct.

According to the latest figures from the Kahala Group of international postal operators, which includes Correos, more than half of the express parcels and 75 pct of postal shipments worldwide are handled by Kahala members. In Spain, there was a 45 pct increase in shipments from Asian countries in November compared to the same month last year.

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Decisions on the Future of Post Offices in East Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Lincolnshire Are Announced

Posted by | Dec 13, 2007 | |

Post Office Ltd announced decisions on the future of Post Office branches across East Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Lincolnshire, following a six-week public consultation which ended on 12 November.

Post Office services will be provided through a network of 336 branches, including 24 outreach service points, which supports the national accessibility criteria introduced by the Government and ensures that 99 pct of this area’s population will either see no change to their existing branch or will remain within one mile (by road distance) of an alternative branch.

The announcement today means that 42 branches will close in East Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Lincolnshire, with the first closures scheduled to take place in late January 2008. These branches were detailed in the Area Plan proposal published on 2 October 2007.

The replacement of 24 branches by outreach solutions was also confirmed in principle today subject to final agreement with Postwatch. Post Office Ltd is now working on finalising the details of the specific solution that replaces each branch, and this information will be published shortly. The outreach solutions could include a mobile service visiting small communities at set times, a hosted service operated within third party premises for restricted hours each week, or a partner service within the premises of a local partner.

Three branches originally proposed for closure – Bailgate in Lincoln, Brackenborough Road in Louth and New Hexthorpe in Doncaster – will now remain open following a review of the issues raised during consultation and of factors relating to geography, the availability of local transport and access to alternative branches, local demographics and the impact on local economies.

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Decisions on East Essex and Suffolk Post Office® Branches Announced

Posted by | Dec 13, 2007 | |

Post Office Ltd today announced decisions on the future of Post Office® branches across East Essex and Suffolk area following a six week public consultation ending on 19 November. Post Office® services will be provided through a network of 357 branches, which supports the national accessibility criteria introduced by the Government and ensures that 99 pct of the county’s population will either see no change to their existing branch or will remain within one mile (by road distance) of an alternative branch.

The plan confirmed today means that 47 branches will close in East Essex and Suffolk with the first closures scheduled to take place in January 2008. These branches were detailed in the Area Plan proposal published on 9 October 2007.

The replacement of 17 branches by outreach solutions was also confirmed in principle today subject to final agreement with Postwatch. Post Office Ltd is now working on finalising the details of the specific solution that replaces each branch, this information will be published shortly. The outreach solutions could include a mobile service visiting small communities at set times, a hosted service operated within third party premises for restricted hours each week, or a partner service within the premises of a local partner .

Three branches originally proposed for closure – Fore Street, Honeycroft Lawford and Warley Road (Hill) – will now remain open following a review of the issues raised during consultation. One of the proposed closures, Cretingham branch, will now be considered as a proposal for an outreach solution.

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Click to buy

Posted by | Dec 13, 2007 | |

AMERICA’S spendthrift consumers have long been a driver of global economic growth, merrily emptying their wallets and purses on the back of rising house prices and cheap money. So, many nervous eyes have been watching how consumers would react to falling house prices and the squeeze on credit. Happily for retailers and the wider economy, and despite lower consumer confidence, Americans are spending more than ever—online, at least. Since the beginning of November online spending is up by 18% compared with 2006, according to comScore, an internet-information provider. And on Thursday December 6th shoppers rang up USD 803m, the biggest online spending day yet, contributing to record weekly sales of USD 4.6 billion.

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