It’s been a challenging year for Royal Mail. The postal operator’s plans to introduce pricing in proportion (PiP) got a mixed reception and it has been heavily criticised for poor delivery times and missing letters.
But 2006 is likely to prove even more testing. In January, the UK mail market will open its doors to full competition and mailers are already changing their allegiances.
Read MoreRoyal Mail announced today that Marisa Cassoni, Group Finance Director, will be stepping down from her role and leaving the company at the end of December.
Marisa Cassoni has been with the Company for over four years and has been a key member of the team which has seen the Company through its successful three-year renewal plan. Royal Mail is now moving into the next stage of its development, with the market opening to full competition from January 1, and the process to find a new Group Finance Director will now start.
Experian is challenging Royal Mail in the movers data market by launching its own change of address file, Absolute Contacts. Royal Mail operates the market leading NCOA (National Change of Address) file, based on consumers who have moved home and have paid Royal Mail to register their new address. Absolute Contacts uses Experian’s Absolute Movers file to identify goneaways. It estimated that about half the 3.25 million Britons who move house each year do not register their new details on Royal Mail’s file and it is this gap that Experian is hoping to exploit.
Read MoreThousands of Royal Mail managers have been asked to work in sorting and delivery offices or even drive postal vans in the busy run-up to Christmas in a bid to cut costs, it was revealed today. The organisation said it wanted managers to spend 10 days or more helping clear the expected huge festive postbag so it could cut back on the number of casual staff it employed. Senior officials worked in sorting and delivery offices last year and the practice will be encouraged again in the coming months. “This is about making Christmas a success for our customers,” said a Royal Mail spokesman. “Our managers have always been very willing to volunteer.”
Read MoreRoyal Mail revealed yesterday that the overall volume of mail is declining for the first time in 25 years, and claimed it was evidence of economic downturn in Britain. Chairman Allan Leighton said yesterday that the organisation was “a barometer of the economy”, adding that Royal Mail was “very much dependent on GDP”. Overall mail volumes handled by the provider are down 1pc in the current year, with nearly all the loss in the profitable business mailings sector.
A spokesman said there had been a particularly noticeable downturn in letters inviting people to apply for credit cards. Mr Leighton disclosed that the fall for the first time at a Trade & Industry Select Committee where he also warned that the Royal Mail’s ”one price goes anywhere” service would be under threat unless it was allowed to charge 39p for a first class stamp by 2009-10.
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