New Zealand Post and Marketing Impact Limited announced they have reached agreement for Marketing Impact to buy New Zealand Post’s email and text marketing business, MessageMedia. The transaction, valued at less than USD 250,000.
It will be business as usual for MessageMedia’s customers and three staff as they transfer to Marketing Impact, a creative direct marketing agency with over 80 staff in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Read MoreDr. Ulrich Gygi, CEO of Swiss Post, was honored with the Industry Leadership Award at the 2008 World Mail Awards in Budapest. The award, which is sponsored by Pitney Bowes, was presented to Dr. Gygi by Patrick Keddy, President Pitney Bowes International.
CEO of Pitney Bowes, Murray Martin said: “We’ve been involved in the World Mail Awards since its inception and are very pleased to sponsor the Industry Leadership Award. This award recognizes individuals who have contributed to the success of our industry and helped shape the future of global postal systems.”
The Judging Panel said it recognized Dr. Gygi for his leadership and steady transformation of Swiss Post into a more efficient and cost-effective entity. “In addition to domestic operational and financial success, Dr. Gygi has also demonstrated creativity and initiative by forming strategic partnerships in international markets,” said David Treworgy, the non-voting chair of the judging panel.
The winner was selected through an independent Judging Panel consisting of seven distinguished individuals in the postal and mail industry:
Jean-Paul Bailly, CEO of La Poste and 2007 award winner
Helge Israelsen, CEO of Post Danmark and a previous award winner
Graeme John, Managing Director of Australia Post and a previous award winner
John E Potter, Postmaster General and CEO if the United States Postal Service, and a previous award winner
William Tan, former CEO of Singapore Post
Elmar Toime, former CEO of New Zealand Post and a previous award winner
Dr. Klaus Zumwinkel, former Chairman of Deutsche Post World Net and a previous award winner
Pitney Bowes will also make a charitable donation or provide funding for an educational initiative of Dr. Gygi’s designation
Read MoreKiwibank has made a further cut to its two-year fixed-term home loan interest rate. Kiwibank has cut the rate to 8.99 pct per annum, effective immediately, making it the only major bank to offer a fixed term home loan rate below 9 pct.
Kiwibank Chief Executive Sam Knowles said there has been a clear softening in the interest rate market. “The other banks have this week brought their rates to nearly those offered by Kiwibank, so we are cutting this key term even further.”
“This rate will appeal to those home owners who have loans coming due for renewal. They will have been very nervous at refixing loans when rates were hovering near the 10 pct mark. A rate below 9 pct will be a much reduced rate shock.
“Kiwibank always wants to be fast to cut loan rates and slow to increase them. This latest cut fits with that strategy,” Mr Knowles said.
Read MoreFor different reasons, most actors in liberalized postal markets call for sector specific regulatory bodies. However those should disappear over time along with an increasingly market-oriented definition of universal services.
Sector specific regulation in the postal sector has rarely been questioned so far. However, with the total opening of the European market now foreseen between 2011 and 2013, and in some countries already in place, we should think again.
To recall the context, specific regulation in the postal sector is an invention of the European Community back in 1997. The regulation was a copy of what at that time had already been set up for the telecommunications sector. Indeed the Postal Directive (97/67/EC) required every member country to set up a postal regulator. The regulator’s main functions were: firstly to make sure the Universal Service Obligation (USO) and corresponding quality criteria are fulfilled; and secondly to watch on possible cross-subsidies resulting from the monopoly, which in turn was designed as a means to finance the USO.
Abolition of postal monopoly
With the new Postal Directive of the European Community (2008/6/EC), the monopoly will be abolished in 2011 with exceptions granted to some member countries in 2013. Finland, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom have already abolished (at least de jure) their monopoly protection, while the Netherlands delayed full market opening because of continuing barriers to entry in Germany. Outside the European Union, Switzerland might open its postal market completely to competition by 2012, while Canada thinks on deregulating outbound mail.
Read MoreOn 28 March 2008, New Zealand Post introduced a new pricing in proportion system for all standard domestic mail. Similar to the system recently introduced in the UK this means letters and parcels sent within New Zealand are now priced in direct proportion to their size and weight. Previously parcels have been priced mainly on weight.
Motivations behind the change are very similar to that of the UK and reflect the worldwide drive for cost reflective pricing among incumbent postal operators. Previously some larger sized items of mail have been the same price to send as smaller items and this has not reflected the cost of handling them. As most of the mail that passes through our network is of a smaller size, it is fair that the postage price is in proportion to the size and weight of the item.
• larger items require manual processing (not machine processing)
• larger items require double handling by both Mail Sorters and Posties
• larger items are more costly to transport due to size
A further parallel with the UK can be seen with many standard items remaining the same price although New Zealand has not introduced a grace period for surcharging it will consider the change when assessing under paid items. The postage price for most of the standard domestic letters that go through the network remains unchanged at NZD 0.50 (USD 0.39)because most of these letters are of a smaller size.
However, a more selective brand of PiP is employed in New Zealand with the more lucrative bulk mail products escaping the new system. Bulk mail products (VolumePost, GoFlexible and PrintPost) and international products are not changing.
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