Crikey.com.au has published two articles this week about Australia Post and the challenges they face in falling mail volumes as a result of increased online traffic. The other challenge to Australia Post is the push for increased competition in mail – open competition is considered best practice in the EU.
Newsagents are experiencing increased competition from Australia Post in the retail front. The government owned and protected 850 corporate stores use their mail services to pull traffic for a lower cost, extract better landlord deals. These benefits of government protection are used to help fund loss leaders which target newsagents and some other retailers.
Australia Post senior management are on incentives (huge I am told) to drive these moves against private enterprise. Government policy, from successive governments, permits Australia Post to pit this government business against small independent retailers, to use the protection to specifically target businesses like newsagencies.
Economists ought to look at the net cost to the economy of the government owned Australia Post taking business from the private sector in this way. I suspect they would find the cost higher than if the post office was taken back to the past of offering only postal services.
Sure the government likes the hundreds of millions of dollars of dividends they receive. Imaging what they could achieve in taxes from more efficient and profitable private enterprises.
Australia Post has no role in selling office stationery, printer ink refills, greeting cards, calendars, magazines, books, phone recharge, mobile phones, picnic sets, games and gifts.
Life beyond mail for Australia Post? One thing is for certain, it will involve poor customer service and long queues.
i own a post office
i sell cards/stationary/gifts toys etc etc in the post that is my right in this democratic country
stop bitching about it and maybe you will have more time on your own business
Thomas, I always draw a distinction between LPOs like yours and the government owned shops.
That Champion of small busniess John Howard did nothing about it in 11 years of government. What he did do is allow the big companies like woolies & coles to grow bigger at the expense of the small retailer and add extra burden of BAS & GST compiance into the mix so don’t expect a labor government to do much better.
i have a Aust Post Office right across the street from my shop, they cannot compete on price or service with me. I have just stuck their ink cart ad on my front counter with my prices next to theirs, they are anywhere from $3 to $10 per cartridge more expensive than my prices, which I am only to happy to point out to customers as I chat to them at the counter. They dont even stock all the cartridges for the printers they sell, that really makes the customers happy. I dont consider the Post Office as a shoppers destination, sure they may buy something on impulse while they are there, but will only be there to post a letter or buy a stamp, not to make a major stationery purchase. My gripe is not them creeping into my market, its that we are not allowed to encroach on theirs in any way shape or form.
Thomas, If you think its your democratic right to sell stationery and cards then I should be allowed to sell postage products at the same commission as you and be allowed to offer postboxes as well. Don’t be on your high horse about selling stationery and cards but hide behind a government backed monopoly on your core lines when it suits you.
The argument Mark and a lot of retailers have is that when it suits Aust post they argue that it is only fair thet they are allowed to compete with other businesses and then when it suits them they crawl behind a monopoly, look what happened when someone tried to compete with post bill pay, they locked up the large billers and did not allow competition.
If you want fair competition then give up your strangle hold on postage commissions and postboxes and I will be more then happy.
Mark,
You are 100% correct on your opinions on Aust Post. It is an absolute disgrace that government is competing with the small business / private sector in this way.
Political lobbying may be the only answer.
All small business ask for is a level playing field, if one can be achieved there will be greater competition in the marketplace which will benefit the consumer and the government.
Chris
Reservoir
Thomas
You live in a sheltered commercial environment and good luck to you, however step outside the circle without mother post nurturing you and see why newsagents despise the trade practices of a taxfunded corporation to ensure you survive at the expense of others who are fighting the trade wars on their lonesome
Good to see Aust post is moving into insurance now. And to give everyone an extra kick in the guts they say they will be a success because of the “trusted Australia post Brand”, how are they going to justify insurance as a misc post service?
just wait until they start selling Austalia Post Draught Beer
Luke,
“How can they going to justify etc” answer very easily. Their bill pay works for them and gives them credibility.
In 1990-1 Green Slip insurance became deregulated in NSW It was spresd around 14 underwriters. As CEO of NANA I launched shop front Insurance through newsagencies. A great money spinner however reasonably short lived as upon reneway\l the underwriter went direct.
At that time I recommended other types of insurance policy remnewals with underwriters AMP and Sun Alliance. The Board of the day thought not.
I think it a natural extension of the Bill Pay concept.
I also agree that they should be unable to sell products that we are prohibitive in selling – stamps etc. I don’t want them however to be able to sell newsapapers and mags either.
Cake and eat it too? maybe, if you can get away with it, why not?
If the Publishers and Mag Distributors ever decide that an organisation that opens its doors 9 – 5 Mon to Fri should be allowed to sell papers and mags then I think we all should give the game away. Its for that very reason that newsagencies should be allowed to sell stamps as well. We sell 40 or so stamps per day (at cost price) because people don’t want to line up at the PO. We would sell many more if we didn’t restrict sales to 2 per person.
Aust post deciding who can sell stamps on commission and who cannot is what is wrong with their monopoly, they decide who gets the postpoint licence and who does not. They decide against who and when they compete for products and when it suits them they fall back behind their little government protection.
They are assured of customer traffic because they are the only major player in the postage service but then they want to cherry pick the best retail and service products when it suits them and rely on a brand that was built on taxpayer dollars.
The only good thing about this is they do such a bad job at customer service because the majority of their staff are proxy public servants that show up to work only for the paycheque and care little for the customer that they now will spend even more time trying to sell insurance and phone credit then they will trying to flog stationery, cards, gifts. You can forget stamps and postage that is the last thing they want to promote.