The 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 MoreNews that the Government is giving Royal Mail GBP1.7bn – on top of the recent price control – to update its service and get its pension fund back on track has irked many. But the watchdogs are firmly on-side. The Government’s decision to hand out GPB1.7bn to Royal Mail has been met with fury from competing postal operators. TNT Post UK chief executive Nick Wells has branded it “murky”, adding: “The game’s not being played on a fair playing field and I’d like to know where the referee is.” Opposition parties have also hit out at the move. But what do direct marketers think? One industry source claims Royal Mail is having its cake and eating it: “Postcomm’s recent price control was very generous – we assumed it was set on the basis that there wasn’t going to be any Government aid. For Royal Mail to receive both seems very one-sided.”
Read MoreThe Greater London Authority is to continue its contract with TNT Post for the door-drop distribution rights for free newspaper The Londoner for the third consecutive year, in a deal worth GBP1.3m. The 12-month contract was awarded after what Greater London Authority described as a “competitive tender process against competing distributors”. Charles Neilson, managing director at TNT Post said: “The renewal of the contract for the third year running clearly demonstrates our continued ability to provide an unrivalled, high-level service.”
Read MoreRoyal Mail and the government unveiled details yesterday of a framework agreement on an investment package aimed at allowing the company to modernise its postal sorting operations, restructure the Post Office network and tackle its pounds 5bn plus pension fund deficit. The trade and industry secretary, Alistair Darling, said the deal would give Royal Mail the resources and borrowing facilities to secure its future. However, the agreement came in for sharp criticism from TNT Post UK, one of Royal Mail’s rivals in the postal market. TNT is threatening to refer the agreement to Brussels under European Union rules on state aid. “We are alarmed at the decision to waste pounds 1.75bn of taxpayers’ money and damage new competition in the postal market by giving such an enormous handout to a highly profitable organisation,” said its chief executive, Nick Wells.
Read MoreTNT Post UK today announces the acquisition of the JD Williams courier network. This development provides an entry for TNT Post UK to Business to Consumer (B2C) and Consumer to Consumer (C2C) parcel and packet delivery markets, providing 80 per cent coverage in the United Kingdom. The JD Williams courier network employs 194 employees supported by a network of over 2200 self-employed couriers and currently delivers some 12 million parcels and packets per year to consumers in the UK. The acquisition of the courier network is a significant gain for TNT Post’s ‘End to End’ strategy of being able to offer customers a complete postal and delivery solution.
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