https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/20 ... hold-ends/
Amazon and Hermes eye Post Office after Royal Mail stranglehold ends
New deal ends centuries-old arrangement that has meant the Post Office only handles Royal Mail items
Amazon and Hermes are in talks with the Post Office for it to handle parcels, allowing them to muscle in on Royal Mail’s dominant position in the delivery market.
The Post Office has struck a new deal that will free it from a centuries-old arrangement tying it to Royal Mail.
The Post Office remains in state ownership after it was split from Royal Mail, which was privatised and floated on the stock exchange in 2013.
Until now the Post Office only handled Royal Mail items at its network of 11,500 branches.
Chief executive Nick Read, the former boss of convenience store Nisa, said: “You won’t be too surprised to know that we have been approached by third-party providers already. And clearly we will be having conversations with them to understand what the opportunity looks like.”
Silicon Valley giant Amazon and Hermes, backed by a US private equity firm, are understood to be among those that have opened discussions with Mr Read’s team.
The parcel delivery market has boomed this year after accelerating a trend for people to shop online with goods posted home.
Advent, one of the world’s biggest buyout funds, agreed a €1bn deal to buy the UK operations of Hermes, whose clients include John Lewis and Next, and a minority stake in its Germany arm.
Post Office volumes are up by more than fifth, Mr Read said, with the company handling 16 million transactions-a-week.
“I think it would be fair to say that our mail and parcels business has exploded,” he said.
The new agreement with Royal Mail would not affect the services the Post Office provided. “Everything that is currently happening with Royal Mail will continue,” Mr Read said.
Having suffered from a sharp fall in the numbers of letters posted as Covid hit earlier in the year, shares in Royal Mail have surged under executive chairman Keith Williams, the former British Airways boss. Parcel volumes are now bigger than letters.
Stuart Simpson, interim Royal Mail chief executive said: “Royal Mail and the Post Office have a long shared history and both companies play an important role keeping the UK connected.”
Amazon declined to comment. Hermes did not comment.
ANNOUNCEMENT : ALL OF ROYAL MAIL'S EMPLOYMENT POLICIES (AGREEMENTS) AT A GLANCE (Updated 2021)... HERE
ANNOUNCEMENT : PLEASE BE AWARE WE ARE NOT ON FACEBOOK AT ALL!
Amazon and Hermes eye Post Office after Royal Mail stranglehold ends
-
POSTMAN
- SITE ADMINISTRATOR
- Posts: 32756
- Joined: 07 Aug 2006, 03:19
- Gender: Male
Amazon and Hermes eye Post Office after Royal Mail stranglehold ends
I Wrote-During Covid-Which is still relevant now
It's good to get these types of threads, the ridiculous my manager said bollox, so we can reassure ourselves that while the world is falling apart, Royal Mail managers are still being the low-life C***S they have always been.
My BFF Clash
The daily grind of having to argue your case with an intellectual pigmy of a line manager is physically and emotionally draining.
It's good to get these types of threads, the ridiculous my manager said bollox, so we can reassure ourselves that while the world is falling apart, Royal Mail managers are still being the low-life C***S they have always been.
My BFF Clash
The daily grind of having to argue your case with an intellectual pigmy of a line manager is physically and emotionally draining.
-
POSTMAN
- SITE ADMINISTRATOR
- Posts: 32756
- Joined: 07 Aug 2006, 03:19
- Gender: Male
Re: Amazon and Hermes eye Post Office after Royal Mail stranglehold ends
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... r-couriers
Post Office in talks over hosting services for other couriers
Post offices are to allow people to pick up and drop off parcels and packages for courier companies other than Royal Mail, potentially opening the way to partnerships with the likes of Amazon or Hermes in a shake-up of the UK’s postal service.
The Post Office announced on Thursday that it would open access to other delivery companies as well as Royal Mail from March 2021 onwards.
Royal Mail, the delivery company, and the Post Office, which runs the branch network, were separated in 2012 before the former listed on the stock market in 2013. Their exclusive partnership ends in March and the new deal, which runs to 2032, leaves the door open to other companies to join.
It is understood that the Post Office is engaged in talks with multiple courier companies who could use the service, although no agreements have yet been reached.
The Post Office has 11,500 branches across the country, a network that could be valuable for other couriers, some of whom have tried to build up rival networks in newsagents.
The opening up of post offices to other firms could potentially help postmasters – who run their businesses as independent franchises – to capitalise on the boom in online deliveries of products, at a time when demand for letters is rapidly diminishing.
Potential services could include click-and-collect orders, as well as easy returns for online retail purchases. The Post Office will hope that extra footfall from customers of other courier services will keep the postmasters onside.
Nick Read, the Post Office’s chief executive, said in a speech to postmasters on Thursday: “The parcel market is booming and has changed out of all recognition from the way the world looked in 2012. The growth of online retailing means there is much more competition. Customers can choose other mail and parcels providers directly.
“But it doesn’t remove the fact that physical presence is still vital. The presence of a post office in every community of the UK is very attractive and makes us uniquely placed to benefit for many years to come.”
Royal Mail recently launched doorstep parcel collection across the country, a move that could reduce its dependence on the Post Office.
Post Office in talks over hosting services for other couriers
Post offices are to allow people to pick up and drop off parcels and packages for courier companies other than Royal Mail, potentially opening the way to partnerships with the likes of Amazon or Hermes in a shake-up of the UK’s postal service.
The Post Office announced on Thursday that it would open access to other delivery companies as well as Royal Mail from March 2021 onwards.
Royal Mail, the delivery company, and the Post Office, which runs the branch network, were separated in 2012 before the former listed on the stock market in 2013. Their exclusive partnership ends in March and the new deal, which runs to 2032, leaves the door open to other companies to join.
It is understood that the Post Office is engaged in talks with multiple courier companies who could use the service, although no agreements have yet been reached.
The Post Office has 11,500 branches across the country, a network that could be valuable for other couriers, some of whom have tried to build up rival networks in newsagents.
The opening up of post offices to other firms could potentially help postmasters – who run their businesses as independent franchises – to capitalise on the boom in online deliveries of products, at a time when demand for letters is rapidly diminishing.
Potential services could include click-and-collect orders, as well as easy returns for online retail purchases. The Post Office will hope that extra footfall from customers of other courier services will keep the postmasters onside.
Nick Read, the Post Office’s chief executive, said in a speech to postmasters on Thursday: “The parcel market is booming and has changed out of all recognition from the way the world looked in 2012. The growth of online retailing means there is much more competition. Customers can choose other mail and parcels providers directly.
“But it doesn’t remove the fact that physical presence is still vital. The presence of a post office in every community of the UK is very attractive and makes us uniquely placed to benefit for many years to come.”
Royal Mail recently launched doorstep parcel collection across the country, a move that could reduce its dependence on the Post Office.
I Wrote-During Covid-Which is still relevant now
It's good to get these types of threads, the ridiculous my manager said bollox, so we can reassure ourselves that while the world is falling apart, Royal Mail managers are still being the low-life C***S they have always been.
My BFF Clash
The daily grind of having to argue your case with an intellectual pigmy of a line manager is physically and emotionally draining.
It's good to get these types of threads, the ridiculous my manager said bollox, so we can reassure ourselves that while the world is falling apart, Royal Mail managers are still being the low-life C***S they have always been.
My BFF Clash
The daily grind of having to argue your case with an intellectual pigmy of a line manager is physically and emotionally draining.