More P.O.s may have to shut

Press, 17 October 1987, Page 1

More P.O.s may have to shut

By

DAVID CLARKSON

and JENNY LONG

More of Christchurch’s 23 surviving Post Office branches might be closed if Postßank and Telecom business was reduced, said the New Zealand Post district manager, Mr Pat Nicholas, yesterday.

He acknowledged that some of the city’s branches that will remain open after February 5 are not profitable at present. Their future will depend on Postßank and Telecom plans. Mr Nicholas said handling banking and Telecom business amounted to 90 per cent of the transactions at some branches. •> Telecom has already set up its own shop in central Wellington to handle telephone accounts and other business normally done at post office counters. Speculation has occurred that shops may be-planned for Christchurch, though this could npt be confirmed with the new corporation yesterday. Postßank had been moving to provide quick counter service to customers, and to become a retail bank in its own right, said a spokesman, Mr John McCaulay, in Auckland. ‘‘Postßank is reviewing its branch network,” he said. An early assessment of the bank suggested it needed 383 brariches nationally. It now has 531 outlets, including 246 under Postßank control. The rest are still agencies or in New Zealand Post branches. Mr Nicholas said he would put all his effort into making sure that the remaining branches In his district did not show a loss. “I believe they won’t show a loss,” he said. “When you look at the over-all map of the city we believe they are pretty strategically, placed..” / He would not indicate which local offices remained unprofitable, and might still be considered for closing. He rejected assertions by some post office workers that the loss

figures for some branches had been “jacked up.” Although he had not studied the figures from the management information section, he believed the staff claim was based on salaries only. “But there is a whole range of other things which are added on to running any business. There are overheads, providing transport, getting business to them, or shifting mail.” A Post Office spokesman hinted yesterday that New Zealanders buying postage stamps from local shops next year were unlikely to face the present 10 per cent retail surcharge. Dairies and other retail outlets will sell more stamps after many post offices close in February. At present, books of stamps sold retail are surcharged 10 per cent. However, the retail manager of New Zealand Post, Mr Graeme Wilson, said yesterday that he felt people should not be disadvantaged because post offices had closed. New Zealand Post would look at its retailing strategy, and hoped to make an announcement in a week. or two, said Mr Wilson. “We have had a very good relationship with retailers, and we hope that will continue.” Mr Wilson said that retailers naturally liked selling stamps because it brought customers into their shops. New Zealand Post also plans to increase the number of stampvending machines, and post boxes. Extensions are also planned for rural and urban deliveries.

Restraint call, page 9