Royal Mail
The history of today’s Royal Mail can be traced back to the reign of Henry VIII. Today it is the country’s national postal service and its vivid red delivery vans, post-boxes and whistling postmen have long been an instantly recognisable part of Britain’s culture. However technology and the rise of rivals could mean that within a few years the Royal Mail will do little more than deliver thank-you letters and birthday cards.
It is unlikely that much of the direct mail coming through letterboxes is handled by Royal Mail anymore. Since its monopoly was broken in 2004 the state-owned giant has seen much of its business mail operation fall into the hands of rivals. Today less than one in every three posted items is handled by the company.
Big names in the world of banking, retail and energy supply, responsible for distributing at least some of the direct mail falling onto doormats around the country, now put their bulk mail through companies such as TNT Post or UK Mail. For more information on the subject of direct mail, visit direct-mail-info.co.uk.
However, Royal Mail still has to pitch in with the so called final mile of the delivery as they are the only company in the country with a dedicated team of postmen.
The rise of the internet, email and text capable phones has also had a dramatic effect on the amount of mail now put in a post box. It is now more economically viable send bulk information out electronically to customers, especially direct mail.