Tag: Royal Mail

UK Postal Services: Doors open on mail

Posted by | May 10, 2005 | |

The postal landscape is changing as Royal Mail finally steps aside to let new operators through. Postal deregulation has been on the cards for years but is finally starting to happen. Some banks and utilities are switching to competitors of Royal Mail, a vote of confidence that could encourage other volume mailers to follow. Full liberalisation was originally set for April 2007, with a staggered schedule that would give Royal Mail time to overcome its financial problems before facing the competition. However, thanks to the company’s rapid recovery, the government was recently able to bring the date forward to the beginning of next year. In practice much has depended on Royal Mail opening up its delivery network to competitors, as it is difficult for new entrants to set up an infrastructure from scratch. That has been a problem, postal experts say, as until recently it showed reluctance to do so.

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UK mail chief to urge employee buyout

Posted by | May 9, 2005 | |

Allan Leighton, Royal Mail chairman, is expected to begin pushing next week for a partial privatisation of the national postal operator through an employee buyout. The proposal, which would enable Royal Mail to borrow an extra Pounds 2bn against its balance sheet, will test the government’s manifesto pledge that there were “no plans to privatise” the postal group. Royal Mail officials said yesterday there was enough “wiggle room” in the government’s position to allow the John Lewis-style plan of employee ownership to be implemented. The man who will ultimately decide whether the scheme could go ahead is Alan Johnson, a former postman and the new secretary of productivity, energy and industry.

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Pounds 530m surprise profit in the post for UK Royal Mail

Posted by | May 8, 2005 | |

Bumper profits of about Pounds 530 million will be unveiled by the UK Post Office next week, boosted by sharp rises in stamp prices over the past three years. The surprise surplus, more than double the Pounds 220 million of last year, will trigger Pounds 1,000 bonuses for the 195,000 workforce. At the same time, chairman Allan Leighton will announce a dramatic improvement in delivery standards, though Royal Mail is expected to miss its most important target that 93 per cent of firstclass mail should arrive the following day. The surge in profits was given a cautious welcome by the Government funded watchdog, Postwatch. A spokesman said: ‘It is good to see the Royal Mail heading in the right direction, but we should not get too excited. Much of this increase is down to us the consumer who is having to pay more for stamps.

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SPECIAL REPORT – FULFILMENT: Receiving end

Posted by | Apr 29, 2005 | |

The tenet that the customer is always right does not seem to have permeated the home delivery sphere, with many packages turning up at unspecified, inconvenient times. But with new entrants raising standards, the old school may be forced to mend its ways.

Home shopping may be big business, but it is no longer the sole domain of big businesses, with everyone from Amazon to the local corner shop now offering an online or catalogue shopping experience. But while the rest of the retail world has been moving speedily towards home shopping solutions, it would seem that most delivery companies have been standing still.

Home shopping exists to cater for consumers who are too busy to visit the high street, so it should come as no surprise that they may not be able to wait at home all day to receive a package.

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UK Royal Mail attacks vote ‘opportunism’

Posted by | Apr 26, 2005 | |

Royal Mail yesterday described its watchdog as ‘scaremongering’ and ‘opportunistic’ after Postwatch complained that the organisation was not reinstating collection tabs on postboxes. The tabs, which show when the next collection will be, were removed in 2002. Royal Mail has pledged to reinstate them, where practical, but Postwatch said yesterday it had not been done in many cases and that it may cause difficulties for postal voters in the upcoming election. A spokesman for Royal Mail said it had only promised to reinstate tabs where it was practical and that some postboxes would need to be replaced entirely before tabs were fitted. He also attacked Postwatch’s timing as “opportunistic”.

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