TNT is entering the British consumer parcels market with the acquisition of the JD Williamscourier network for an undisclosed sum. The deal, announced today, gives TNT Post UK 80% nationwide
coverage, a “final mile” delivery network and means it will compete with Royal Mail not only in theletters market but also for B2C and C2C parcels.The JD Williams courier network employs 194 employees supported by a network of over 2,200self-employed couriers and currently delivers some 12 million parcels and packets per year toconsumers in the UK. The business is due to be transferred to TNT on August 28, 2006. TNT PostUK, which launched in August 2004, currently processes over 60 million letters a month and usesdownstream access to the Royal Mail network for final delivery to businesses and households.
TNT said that the acquisition of the courier network is a significant gain for TNT Post’s ‘Endto End’ strategy of being able to offer customers a complete postal and delivery solution. TNT PostUK is now equipped with a valuable parcel infrastructure from which to service both JD Williams’home shopping customers and all potential customers that want a next day or 2 day deliveryoption.
Nick Wells, Chief Executive of TNT Post UK, said: “This network acquisition is a big developmentfor the TNT Post business that really propels us forward in terms of business growth and ourposition in the UK postal market. We will be taking on the entire courier network including allemployees and the self employed couriers will be able to continue to offer their services and willbe encouraged to do so. We will be upgrading the communications infrastructure and sortingoperation in order to improve efficiency and expand the network further. We will continue to offerour customers a high quality, good value B2C parcel delivery service backed by the TNT brand andservice ethic.”
TNT Post UK will continue to grow and develop the courier network and ensure it can competeeffectively with Royal Mail and other B2C parcel competitors. Combining both networks strengthensthe End-to-End strategy and offers TNT Post UK the capabilities to use the combined network fornon-parcel deliveries, TNT said in a statement. TNT Post UK, whose mail customers include Sky,Barclays, Lloyds TSB, npower, Thames Water and Ikea, currently offers a two-day mail deliveryservice with own collection and sorting, and final distribution via Royal Mail.
JD Williams, part of N Brown Group plc, is the most successful direct home shopping company inthe UK, operating over 20 successful catalogue brands, with over 2 million customers and 4,000employees. The company was founded in 1875 by James David Williams and in 1882 was the first tomake use of the UK’s parcel post service to send products directly to customers. The JD Williamscourier network provides the home delivery service for the N Brown Group of companies.
