The boss of TNT Post UK has welcomed plans to sell off Royal Mail, arguing the move will make the state-owned postal operator – and the market as a whole – far more competitive.
Speaking after TNT revealed plans to expand final mile deliveries in London – and ultimately across the UK within five years – chief executive Nick Wells refuted suggestions that the move would hit the Universal Service.
Wells said: “If you look at other international markets where end-to-end competition does already exist, in places like Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain… the Universal Service was not under threat and indeed quality has increased and prices were kept at a reasonable level. Look at other markets, can you imagine an air travel market where there is only one dominant supplier? Prices would go up and services would deteriorate. I think this is good for Royal Mail and good for the industry.”
Wells’ argument seems to be supported by reports that Royal Mail is preparing a move to seven-day-a-week deliveries after privatisation, driven by customer demand for online shopping deliveries.
Extending delivery of letters and parcels to Sundays would blow out of the water fears that privatisation could put the Universal Service at risk.
Next week ,TNT is expanding its delivery service to South-West London, as revealed last month. The company, which began its trial mail delivery service 13 months ago in West London, is now hunting for a partner to help fund a national roll-out that could put 20,000 orange and black clad postal workers on Britain’s streets.
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