Last Thursday’s Greeting Card Association (GCA) conference (19 September) delivered the good news that greeting card sales have increased – now topping £1.51bn – but disappointingly Royal Mail ruled out any chance of a discounted Christmas stamp scheme, sticking firmly to the assertion that its loss-making activities can only be helped by changing the USO (universal service obligation).
The event, held in Bristol, saw the largest turnout of association members, with 185 retailers, publishers and suppliers attending. The agenda spanned human interest, hard facts and direct home truths for the UK’s embattled delivery service.
Following Ofcom’s consultation on The Future Of The Universal Postal Service, released in April, the GCA, and individual members, gave detailed responses to the proposals to weaken the USO by cuts to letter deliveries and giving Royal Mail freedom to raise stamp prices.
Emphasising Royal Mail’s insistence on the importance of USO reform, Royal Mail’s head of public affairs, Fiona Hamilton, cited a decline in letter volumes and the need for parcel growth, and explained the proposed changes to second-class delivery aiming to balance cost and service. Ofcom has suggested accepting the cutting of Saturday deliveries and possibly moving to an every-other-day model, while first class mail would still have a six-day delivery.
She said: “One of the plans is that on the days where second class isn’t being delivered, we would move first class on to the van network which is then delivering parcels and first-class letters.
“That actually allows us to take out the cost associated with the postman or woman going up the street every day, while continuing to deliver that service, so protecting the revenue, as much as taking the cost out, because it’s a balance between revenue and cost. From our perspective, our proposal is about protecting, not dismantling, but protecting it longer term.”
