New Zealand Post Positions for the Future

New Zealand Post Positions for the Future

25 June, 2012

After a successful eight-year year joint venture, New Zealand Post (NZP) and DHL have reviewed their strategy and agreed to move to a contractual relationship in regards to Express Couriers Limited (ECL) in New Zealand and Parcel Direct Group Pty Limited (PDG), which owns Couriers Please Pty Ltd (CPPL) in Australia.

New Zealand Post has agreed to purchase from DHL its 50% share of ECL and of PDG in Australia. The purchase will make both ECL and PDG wholly-owned subsidiaries of NZP. ECL was formed in 2004 through the amalgamation of New Zealand Posts courier and freight operations, and was then made part of the joint venture between NZP and DHL in early 2005. The company offers express delivery services in New Zealand and internationally via the DHL Express network.

In New Zealand, ECL operates the market leading brands of CourierPost, Pace, Contract Logistics and Roadstar.

CPPL was acquired by NZP in 2000 and included in the PDG joint venture with DHL Express in 2008. As part of the sale process, NZP and DHL Express have put in place a strategic commercial agreement which will see the two companies support each others express delivery operations at a global level, through DHL Express; and domestically in New Zealand, through ECL; and in Australia via CPPL. NZP Group CEO Brian Roche said the agreement represented a significant step in delivering the New Zealand Post strategy.

“Express delivery is a core element of our current and future strategy. Given the growth in the parcel and courier segments, this strategic purchase supports our efforts to adapt the overall business to meet our customers changing needs and expectations.

“We continue to observe a dramatic decline in the amount of letter mail in our traditional postal network while at the same time parcel and courier volumes are growing steadily, on the back of growth in e-tailing and e-trading.

“Having full alignment between New Zealand Post and Express Couriers Limited will allow us to better match our product offerings to customers needs, and as we have previously indicated, explore the benefits of further aligning our postal and courier networks. We can only achieve this if we have full ownership of ECL.”

Mr Roche said NZP and DHL have both benefited from the successful joint venture over eight years, and that relationship would remain strong, changing from a model based on ownership to one based on contract.

Gary Edstein, Senior Vice President Oceania, DHL Express, said that DHL Express has enjoyed a long and successful joint venture with New Zealand Post.

“DHL and NZ Posts relationship is built on mutual trust and understanding. Together weve created a business that has strong brand awareness and solid operational processes and no longer requires a joint ownership model to ensure its success. DHL is excited about the opportunity to focus on our core business; international time definite delivery.

“DHL is committed to delivering a high level of international express services on behalf of New Zealand companies and we are committed to continuing our relationship with the ECL group as our preferred New Zealand Domestic Express Partner,” said Mr Edstein.

Express Couriers Limited CEO Mark Gibson said “ECL customers will continue to receive the same high level of service from the company, and continued access to DHLs global reach. The brands, management team and focus on the marketplace are preserved. We are excited about this step in our development.

“ECL and its customers will continue to enjoy the benefits of DHL Express expertise and global reach through an exclusive distributor and preferred supplier arrangement. We are also looking forward to working even more closely with New Zealand Post, and refining a wider offering of services” Mr Gibson said.

Similarly, CPPL will continue to offer courier services in the Australian market which would be supported by distributor and supplier arrangements with DHL Express.

Couriers Please Pty Ltd CEO Harlis Malkic said it is „business as usual and Couriers Please will continue to focus on being Australias leading metropolitan express parcel delivery provider. “Our customers will continue to receive the excellent levels of service currently provided,” Mr Malkic said.

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