Mail delivery in Denmark is a nearly dead market.
It is not commercially viable for us to continue with this service, says Annemarie Gardshol.
Last year, the Danes abolished the postal law that forced Danish-Swedish Postnord to distribute mail. And when mail volumes have fallen so much and the business is running at a loss, the decision was relatively easy.
This is a well-thought-out and well-worked-out decision, says the CEO.
Does not affect Sweden
What are the thoughts on the Swedish mail service?
Yes, this will not affect the business in Sweden, says she.
In Sweden, 8,000 people work as mail carriers or a total of 11,000 in Postnord's Swedish mail service. Should employees in Sweden be worried about this Danish decision?
No, they should not.
At least not for now. But in the long run, it will probably look different.
In Sweden, the mail market has not collapsed in the same way, although mail volumes have halved in five years. The business is still running at a profit, according to Annemarie Gardshol.
Demands freer reins
But our view is that with the current regulation and the volume decline we see ahead, it will entail an unreasonable economic burden for the company. And that is also one of the reasons why we chose to appeal the upcoming license terms that the PTS has announced will apply from April 1 this year.
Postnord wants freer reins, changes to the postal law, something that the authority Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) has also sketched out. Relaxations in the time requirements for mail delivery are high on Postnord's wish list. Today, almost all mail (95 percent) must have reached the recipient within two days.
It is a decision that lies with politics and we have full respect for that. But I perceive that there is a broad understanding for this. From a Postnord perspective, we see that there is only one solution and that is to implement changes in the regulation, says Annemarie Gardshol.
"The Post Financing Inquiry has presented proposals on how the postal service should be financed if it cannot bear its own costs. The question is still under consideration", says Minister Erik Slottner (KD).
Besides mail, Postnord is investing in the more profitable package business, both in Denmark and Sweden.
