Canada Post unveils comparison shopping site

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Montreal – Canada Post, trying to maintain parcel volumes in the face of a declining letter transport business, is launching a shopping website that lets users buy products online from retailers selling specifically to Canadians.

The crown corporation said the site, called Canada Post Comparison Shopper, will use a ranking system that filters through 4 million products from 500 established retailers marketing directly to Canadian residents.

The system offers search and filter capabilities not available on competing shopping sites, Canada Post said, like a feature that screens for retailers actually shipping to Canada. The site also estimates an “all-in” price for a product, which includes taxes, shipping and customs fees.

Key to Canada Post’s performance over the coming years as it executes a $1.9-billion modernization plan is diversifying its revenue sources as the traditional letter business continues to fall. The mail service says the shopping website is expected to drive growth in the parcel business. It owns a 91% stake in Purolator Courier.

Last month, Canada Post announced it will partner with Swiss company CentrSource SA to start a new customizable online direct-marketing network that lets businesses target consumers by geography. It characterized the service as a natural extension of its admail business.

The crown corporation is hunting for a permanent chief executive officer to replace Moya Greene, who was named CEO of Britain’s Royal Mail this past May. Ms. Greene delivered annual profits in each of her five years at Canada Post, the most recent ones due largely to a widescale cost-cutting effort.

Stewart Bacon, a former Philips Electronics Ltd. vice-president, is acting chief executive of Canada Post, returning to the fold after retiring from the mail service earlier this year.

It is Mr. Bacon who is now overseeing what could be tough and rancourous contract negotiations between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and Canada Post. CUPW locals have taken out ads in newspapers and put up billboards in their call for a more door-to-door delivery for Canadian households and longer opening hours for postal retail outlets.

Financial Post


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