Thailand Post's franchise system flourishing

BANGKOK: -- Thailand Post Shop at the Robinson department store on Ratchadaphisek earns between Bt60,000 and Bt70,000 net on average every month and comes second only to another shop in Lat Krabang Community Housing Project, which earns about Bt100,000 per month. And all this success comes from a novel business idea.

Thailand Post, under the jurisdiction of the Information and Communications Technology Ministry, has so far granted franchising licenses to 27 shops nationwide, under which individuals offer postal services instead of the state agency. And these shops, based in convenient locations, which along with the business acumen of entrepreneurs help guarantee returning customers, only increase revenues for Thailand Post.

A worker at the Ratchada outlet, who asked not to be named, said they were working hard to keep improving customer services. "If we satisfy customers, they will keep coming back," the worker said, adding that being based in a shopping centre also helped draw traffic because city residents prefer to complete everything in one venue.

The shop, which offers Pay at Post options along with traditional mailing services, caters to about 100 customers per day.

Reports of this outlet's success drew 14 post officials - in Bangkok to take postal management courses at the Asian Pacific Postal College (APPC) - to the shop on August 19. The officials hail from Japan, China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Burma, the Maldives and Thailand.

A similar franchise system has also proved successful in Singapore, New Zealand, Malaysia, India and Pakistan.

APPC's course director Wasim Zafar said he had chosen this shop as a case study because it was the perfect example of a partnership between the public and private sectors.

"Business is better handled in the private sector, because shop owners stop at nothing to attract customers," he explained, adding that he hoped officials doing this course would implement similar systems back home.

One of the visiting officials, Maldives Post's assistant manager for sales, Rifath Ali, said she was impressed with the new concept and hoped it would be adopted in her own country.

"Everybody is suffering from the economic crisis, so we have to find new ways to improve our post offices. Post offices in the Maldives come under the state. But hopefully in the future we will be able to join up with big business and earn more," she said.

Thailand Post has cut its 2009 net-profit target to Bt870 million.

Wasim said e-commerce could be another way to boost income.

"People can do paperless payment, but deliveries cannot be paperless," he said.

-- The Nation 2009-08-26

The article mentions New Zealand as having a successful scheme in privatizing post offices. In my travels around NZ the past few years, and living in a few different areas, it would appear that the small village privatized post offices are not doing all that well. Several have closed, choosing not to renew their franchise/lease; others are for sale, the owners hoping to recoup some of their investment. Some shop owners have told me that NZPost cut the shop owners' percentage; combine that with a dwindling economy and the move to a paperless society, and it makes for hard times for these franchisers. NZPost has also gone into partnership with DHL in the past three years.

Other than the DHL bit, the rest is just from my observations. Without research, you're just an anecdote, and that's what this is. Take it as you will...but I think Thailand has a better idea by putting the franchises into malls, where foot traffic is greater than in a village, and the potential customer base is much larger.