These moves could also undermine the state-owned enterprise’s future, especially as it increasingly relies on its courier business.
Discussions are well under way with the businesses and the Otago Daily Times reported last week that the Albert Town service ‘‘will end’’ this year, although an NZ Post spokeswoman maintains the decisions are not yet final.
This likely closure illustrates both the impact and the questionable logic behind the strategy.
The facility has 100 PO boxes, with 75% of them in use. The Four Square is also just 100m off the main road to Lake Hāwea, where posties must travel to another outlet regardless.
Albert Town has been growing rapidly and the ODT reported the following day on a proposed 42-lot subdivision just a few hundred metres from the shop.
While traditional and business letters are being written off as their use continues to plummet, parcel volumes for both individuals and companies have grown substantially.
People wanting to collect their PO box mail or drop off courier packages at the Four Square will likely have to travel to Wānaka. The distance may be short, but the route is increasingly congested. It needs less traffic, not more.
Sending parcels to family or to buyers via Trade Me or Facebook Marketplace will become an extra hassle and cost for Albert Town residents and others affected by past and present closures.
NZ Post’s wide network of outlets gives it an advantage over courier competitors. Drop-offs are usually cheaper than home pick-ups and Dunedin’s courier rivals typically have only one such location. Smaller centres may have none.
NZ Post says eight stores in question account for less than 1.7% of revenue from all mail, parcel and payment services within the Otago retail network. Even so, that amount can still be significant.
The company must also be wary of accelerating the decline of its traditional postal services through overpricing. This is already evident in the magazine sector, where some titles have cut publication schedules because of rising delivery costs. Others have closed or abandoned print.
Hard copy magazine subscriptions will remain viable only if distribution costs are kept in check.
* * * *
While in the Wānaka area, Civis would also like to praise the National Transport and Toy Museum at the airport.
It’s staggering how much is packed in. Hours can be happily lost wandering through the displays, especially for those inclined to wallow in nostalgia.
The museum describes itself as ‘‘one of the world’s largest private collections of aircraft, vehicles and toys’’, a believable claim.
Four large buildings house more than 600 vehicles, 23 aircraft and 100,000-plus toys and miscellaneous items.
The museum also offered Civis another glimpse into the weird and wonderful ways of little children in the 2020s.
A 3-year-old climbed aboard one of the old planes and looked behind the seats to see if she could watch a movie — clear evidence of recent overseas travel.
* * * *
Older folk are unconsciously seduced by the modern world, too. One man in his 70s was studying a framed photograph. Wanting a closer look, and without thinking, he leaned in and spread his thumb and finger across the glass to zoom in.
Of course, his attempted ‘‘pinch-zoom’’ had no effect. He mentally pinched himself, so to speak, when he realised what he had just done.
