Royal Mail could learn something from the humble Italian postie, immortalised in the film Il Postino.
That's according to the man who turned around Poste Italiane, Italy's state post office, and who believes the Royal Mail should keep open its rural network.
Massimo Sarmi, 60, took over Poste Italiane in 2002.Today, he will declare the fifth consecutive year of profits for the company, after more than five decades of losses.
In the first half of last year, the group's net profits rose by 72.6pc to €378m (£257m). By comparison, Royal Mail said last month that its first half profits last year sunk by 86pc to just £22m, although the fall was largely because of a steep rise in the costs of servicing the £6.6billion deficit in its pension fund. Royal Mail has threatened to close half of its 14,000 post offices, which it says are losing it £4m a week. The move would leave many people stranded without a post office for miles.
Italy has a network of the same size and is fiercely protective of it.
Poste Italiane is now the biggest retail bank in the country, and the second-largest insurer.
"I do not understand why Royal Mail does not expand into financial services," Mr Sarmi said.
"Instead, they gave up their peripheral offices and left them in the hands of third parties.
As we report in our Business section, Mr Sarmi is mystified by British short-sightedness.
Financial services are the modern equivalent of wellies and string, and by introducing products such as banking and insurance to his outlets he has ensured that all but about 150 of them stay in the black.
We congratulate him, and hope that the Royal Mail will be suitably shamed. We are not used to taking lessons in efficiency from the Italians, but even lifelong habits may be broken in the right cause.
Italy govt plans to privatize post office in next few years.
MILAN - The Italian government plans to sell stakes in the Poste Italiane-run post office, and in Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato SpA in the next few years, the Radiocor wire agency reported, citing a draft copy of the government's 2008-2011 economic and financial planning program (DPEF).
The DPEF, which sets the country's medium-term objectives and the broad ways to achieve them, is due to be approved later today.
Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato is a publishing house for Italy's official journal and other government publications as well as the country's mint.
In the next few months, the sale on the stock exchange of a stake in Fincantieri is also expected, with 51 pct of the ship-yard staying in the hands of the state, Radiocor reported, citing the document.
The DPEF also includes plans to privatize state-ferry company Tirrenia.
I Wrote-During Covid-Which is still relevant now
It's good to get these types of threads, the ridiculous my manager said bollox, so we can reassure ourselves that while the world is falling apart, Royal Mail managers are still being the low-life C***S they have always been. My BFF Clash The daily grind of having to argue your case with an intellectual pigmy of a line manager is physically and emotionally draining.
