Posti is in the process of updating its retail network. The number of service points and Posti Parcel Lockers will increase by more than 700 service points this year and next year, totaling up to 2,800 service points. As part of the change, Posti will close 18 of its own shops in phases. The personnel reduction need decreased as the cooperation negotiations went on, ending up at 108 employees (124 permanent employees at the beginning of the negotiations).
The cooperation negotiations related to the updating of the retail network have been completed. The cooperation negotiations were motivated by the need to meet the requirements imposed by intense e-commerce growth and changing customer needs.
Customers have been asking for Posti’s service points to have extended opening hours and be located near other services. Posti outlets and Posti Parcel Lockers operated by Posti’s partners are located on the premises of service providers that are also open in the evenings and on weekends.
During the negotiations, it was agreed that an external partner would be found to provide the services or another service model would be adopted for the 18 stores subject to the change. The planned changes would be carried out in phases until March 2021.
In the future, the six shops operated by Posti itself will be located in Helsinki (Postitalo, Kasarmitori and Töölö), Espoo (Matinkylä), Jyväskylä (city center) and Rovaniemi (the Arctic Circle).
The following shops will be closed in phases by March 2021: Helsinki (Punavuori, Etu-Vallila, Hakaniemi and Herttoniemi), Espoo (Tapiola), Vantaa (Tikkurila), Lahti, Turku, Pori, Tampere, Kouvola, Mikkeli, Lappeenranta, Lemi, Vaasa, Kuopio and Rovaniemi. Further information will be given to customers closer to the time of the change. Posti’s operations will continue in all the aforementioned municipalities. Going forward, the goal is that in these municipalities, postal services will be operated by Posti’s local partner with the exact same range of services as Posti’s own shops.
The number of service points has doubled in 10 years
Overall, Posti’s retail network will increase by over 700 new service points and Posti parcel lockers. With a total of 2,062 service points at the end of March, it is planned that Posti will have more than 2,800 service points next year. Approximately 97 percent of the Posti’s retail network consists of service points.
“Over the past decade, the number of Posti's service points has more than doubled, mostly due to parcel lockers which our customers like. As the number of lockers continues to grow and customers have constant access to our digital services, Posti’s services will be even closer to customers than before,” says Lasse Huttunen, Director, Retail Network at Posti.
Posti’s services will remain available in every municipality.
Cooperation negotiations motivated by customer needs and the savings target
In addition to changes in customer needs and the use of time, the cooperation negotiations were also motivated by Posti’s need to reduce costs by at least approximately EUR 150–200 million over the next three years. These cost savings would be required due to the steep decline in letter and publication volumes alone.
The need for savings is based on changing customer needs as well as the costs of Posti’s own shops—central shop locations and extended opening hours cannot be maintained in a cost-effective way. The cooperation negotiations did not concern service points operated by partners.
