Royal Mail has appointed JPMorgan as the sole global custodian of its GBP22bn assets. The deal sees JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services snatch Bank of New York’s (BNY) GBP2.2bn holding. The move comes after reports of a huge shortfall in Royal Mail’s pension scheme, totalling as much as GBP56bn.
Read MoreRoyal Mail is to meet with the Communication Workers Union within the next few weeks to discuss increasing the amount of unaddressed mail carried by the union’s postal worker members. The move would be a breakthrough for door-drop clients frustrated that Royal Mail limits delivery of unaddressed mail to three items a household each week. For Royal Mail to take advantage of growing demand for door-drop media, it first needs to persuade postmen to carry the extra door-drop weight on their rounds. The news emerged at the Direct Marketing Association’s Door Drop Marketing conference, held on June 6, where some speakers criticised Royal Mail, accusing the postal service of inflexibility.
Read MoreRed-faced Royal Mail bosses have been forced to deny they are launching a new postal service, which would see consumers opt in to receive bundled direct mail, after one executive publicly suggested the scheme was in the pipeline.
Royal Mail head of media propositions Fraser Chisholm was speaking at a conference in central London last week, entitled DM Personalisation, at which a pre-recorded interview with OgilvyOne vice-chairman and creative director Rory Sutherland was aired.
Sutherland joked that, if pricing in proportion (PIP) forced brand owners to standardise their mailings, Royal Mail might as well bundle up all direct mail, place it in a big envelope and deliver it to households once a week.
Read MoreThe industry has yet to feel the full force of postal deregulation. But there is no doubt that a liberalised market is good news for direct marketers as the main players compete to offer cost savings, quality and flexible services.
Read MorePostwatch is gearing up for another legal battle against Royal Mail, after vowing to fight the operator’s appeal against the High Court judgment which last year found it guilty of breaching its own compensation scheme. The watchdog claims Royal Mail knows it is set to lose again, but wants to keep the GBP40m it owes disgruntled bulk mailers in the bank in order for it to gain interest. The appeal process will not reach court for several months. Postwatch brought the original judicial review against industry regulator Postcomm when Royal Mail withheld around GBP40m-worth of compensation from companies, after failing all 15 of its minimum service targets in 2003 and 2004. Bulk mail customers should have received compensation totalling GBP80m automatically, but Royal Mail used late invoice payments as a reason to withhold 50 per cent. Judge Justice Sullivan ruled that Royal Mail should pay its customers the GBP40m owed. A Postwatch spokesman explains: “As far as we’re concerned, this appeal is a delaying tactic. We’ve already won this case once, and we’re very confident we will win it again.”
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