With the news yesterday of redundancies at Australia Post and the talk of corporate store closures, I’d be interested to know your thoughts on purchasing a government owned Australia Post retail outlet and merging this with your newsagency.
A few years back when I had one directly opposite me at Forest Hill in Victoria and experiencing their aggressing price competition on stationery, cards, ink and some services, I went on the record saying I;’d love to merge their business with mine.
Now, I am not so sure.
Depending upon what was around it by ay of other corporate AP outlets and what the core of that particular outlets business was I would say it would still be a very solid acquisition. You need to watch that there aren’t other AP corporate offices nearby as AP has been caught out in the past moving or pushing business from what was a corporate outlet that has been privatised to another nearby corporate outlet that they still own. If it has a good number of rented PO Boxes then that is money for jam – seriously good money if you have alot even taking into account a mail sorters part time wages. As of 1st July there is a very significant increase in the amount of money being paid for handing over for delivery undelivered parcels (3 years ago LPOs got nothing, it then increased to a minimal amount, improved again 6 months ago and now will nearly treble in amount to a quite significant amount per parcel) and with the upcoming BPR increase of stamps to $1.00 alot of linked payments within the business will also increase by the same percentage which will again see a significant increase even if only over the short term to an LPOs revenue.
I would consider it on its merits.
Our old store was in a shopping strip next to a LPO on one side and a liquor store on the other side. If we had of bought both for the right price of course and made it one big store along with our Tatts / News it would have been a great store.
I would yes, maybe postXpress ?
Would consider it at the RIGHT price as a lot of their services that would add to our business are in decline and we would be doing so in anticipation of future new business through AP and the opportunity to be absorb a current strong competitor