Fulfilment monopoly challenge

Thursday 9th April 2009, 3:00PM BST.

THE monopoly of Jersey Post could be under threat.

A global mail company wants to compete with the States-owned utility to deliver items for the fulfilment industry to the UK.

Citipost DSA Ltd, a UK company who employ 400 people across four continents, has applied to set up in Jersey.

The Island’s competition regulator said that the application by Citipost for a licence presented the most complex it had faced so far under the Postal Law.

• Picture: Jersey Post is currently the only operator licensed to send mail for Island-based fulfilment companies

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1
John Le Choux

April 9, 2009 at 5:01 pm

Jersey Post does not have a monopoly … it provides a service for which there should not be any competitor. Think … is it in anyone’s interests to have one postal service or more than one? More vans delivering the same number of parcels, ergo more pollution. Does anyone honestly think the price of postage would fall as a result? The only thing that would fall is the salaries of the postal workers, which are not exactly on the level of the finance industry as it is. Not everything is improved by applying the laws of the markets and essential services should remain exactly what they are.

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2
sean

April 9, 2009 at 8:32 pm

need competion on supermarkets, airlines and important things rather than telecom and postal services.things that actually benefit !

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3
tony

April 10, 2009 at 4:56 pm

Wake up John Le C, you’re living in a dream world. This is solely export so no more vans would be needed. Citipost are unlikely to be planning to deliver the stuff, they will simply pass on to the existing postal delivery company in the UK or elsewhere (probably Royal Mail). It’s operated quite successfully like this in the UK for several years and most people have benefited. It’s also meant the Royal Mail have had to smarten up their act and reduce all the wastage – now that does get van’s off the road! Oh, and before anyone moans about all the closures, shutting down the loss making post offices was always on the cards, irrespective of competition.

It doesn’t take a genius to realise the local postal service is heavily subsidised by the profits from the fulfillment industry and to a lesser degree by the other business sectors like finance. As a result we all get relatively cheap postage and a service that is on a par with the best in the world. When was the last time you had to walk more than a couple of hundred yards to post a letter?

I hope the JCRA do allow Citipost to have a licence, it might mean the fulfillment industry stays in Jersey a bit longer. We would just need to get used to the fact that Jersey Post will not be making as many millions each year – the “owners” will then have to find another indirect method of taxing us all. After all, why should Play.com and all the other fulfillment companies continue to subsidise you and me getting cheap postage?

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