Moonpig has sounded the alarm over Royal Mail deliveries ahead of Christmas.
Moonpig’s chief executive Nickyl Raithatha has said he is in talks with the delivery company about service levels as many areas of the country are ‘struggling’ with the reliability of deliveries.
His remarks come as billionaire Daniel Kretinsky – known as the Czech Sphinx – closes in on a £3.6billion deal to buy Royal Mail through the takeover of its parent company International Distribution Services.
Raithatha said: ‘We are working with [Royal Mail] to make sure they do continue to improve those service levels which haven’t been at the level we’d want them to be for the last couple of years.
‘If you’re sending someone a birthday card and it’s their birthday tomorrow, it needs to get there tomorrow.
‘There are many regions that are struggling [with reliability], and you probably only need to speak to a few of your friends, and some of them will say that the post arrives every day and others don’t.’
Concerns: Moonpig boss Nickyl Raithatha has said he is in talks with Royal Mail about service levels as many areas of the country are ‘struggling’ with the reliability of deliveries
Moonpig swung to a £33.3million loss in the six months to October 31 amid gloomy consumer confidence following an £18.9million profit a year earlier.
In a report published in October, regulator Ofcom said Royal Mail ‘continued to fall below’ its service obligations.
Only 74.5 per cent of first-class deliveries arrived on time in the 12 months to the end of March against a target of 93 per cent.
Last year Royal Mail hailed its ‘best Christmas’ in four years after a huge effort to make amends for a chaotic festive operation in 2022.
It said that more than 99 per cent of first and second-class items sent by the last recommended postal dates were delivered in time for Christmas.
But many consumers and small businesses are wary after strike action left parcels and cards piled up in sorting offices across the UK.
This caution has resulted in Moonpig bringing forward reminders to customers for special occasions such as birthdays to ensure cards were sent in good time to account for delays.
But Raithatha shrugged off concerns about the takeover.
‘We talk fairly regularly [with Royal Mail] and we have had lots of reassurances that
the quality and level of service that we get wouldn’t be impacted by any sort of ownership change,’ he said.
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