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The future of the UK mail
market has never been more uncertain, with the temporary seven-year
licences now being issued against an applications deadline of January 1st
2003, and with Consignia having notched up £1.1 billion of losses last
year! The question remains, 'Competition - will it work?'
Industry leaders, including Consignia Chairman Allan Leighton, are meeting
on November 13th & 14th at London’s Olympia for 'The UK Mail Summit' to
talk about these issues and more. The 'free market' view will come from
Deutsche Post, TPG, UK Mail and many others. The Trade Unions represented
by the General Secretary of the CWU, will also be expressing concern about
the latest potential 10,000 job losses on top of the closure of 3,000 Post
Offices and the 30,000 job losses already announced.
There are many issues still unresolved between Consignia/Royal Mail,
Postcomm, the UK regulator and potential new entrants to the UK mail
market such as the Business Post subsidiary UK Mail, who are certainly
giving the appearance of being keen to get on with collecting domestic
mail. But collecting the mail may not be the issue, especially as the
initial 'large mailing' licenses envisaged minimum 4,000 piece collections
opening up some 30% of the market. It’s the downstream delivery economics
that may be the sticking point. Too low a price imposed on Consignia may
well scupper their already parlous finances altogether, not to mention
their much heralded 3-year renewal plan. Too high a price extracted from
Postcomm and the bright new upstart postal services may never get off the
ground!
The recent very public exchange of views on price increases raises the
temperature further, and may only be resolved with the intervention of the
Government’s Trade Secretary, Patricia Hewitt. Whilst there appears
unanimity with the 1p on the price of a stamp, the Regulators proposal to
'bundle' all services to a maximum average fixed price, together with a
2.5% below RPI 3 year price limit, could cost Consignia (and the tax
payer!) an additional £460 million.
Notes to the Editor (Re
the 3rd UK Mail Summit)
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This is the 3rd UK Mail
Summit and is specifically scheduled to take place just 6 weeks before the
deadline for the temporary seven-year postal operator licences to be with
Postcomm.
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Allan Leighton, Chairman
Consignia/Royal Mail will be giving the key Note address.
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November will now be the UK
Mail Summits new annual date.
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The first UK Mail Summit
took place in May 2001.
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The Summit has been moved
to a new location at London’s Olympia to accommodate the expected high
level of demand for places.
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