Retailers react to postal strikes
Tesco switches delivery contract
November 1 2003
Tesco has switched a delivery contract from the Royal Mail as unofficial strikes affect postal services in the UK.
A private firm, Parcelnet, will deliver books ordered by Tesco.com customers in order to meet the 48 hour delivery target set by the UK’s biggest retailer.
With Christmas looming, the dispute is proving to be a shop window for private delivery firms. Industry’s regulator Postcomm has given four firms holding licences and one interim licence holder permission to carry a wider range of mail while the disruption lasts.
Meanwhile, Carphone Warehouse said it has seen an increase in online billing after alerting customers to the potential delays in the post by text message.
Chief executive Charles Dunstone, said: “We have already seen an increase in online billing take up in the last few months and the postal strike has accelerated this.
“By striking, the post office is losing a massive amount of future business and we predict that within five years time we won’t be sending out a single bill by post.”
