Food deliveries to be top activity for French postal service by 2035, says CEO
With fewer people sending each other letters, France's post office will change its strategic plan for the next ten years, looking to significantly increase its home meal delivery business - aimed in particular at elderly people - and to continue to deliver parcels.
"We are committed to our public service missions," Philippe Wahl, the CEO of France's postal service, La Poste, told the French Senate on Wednesday, but "[we] are under pressure".
Wahl said letter and parcel deliveries dropped from 70 percent of France's post office business in 1990 to just 15 percent by the end of 2024, as letters have been replaced by e-mails and most invoices are now digital.
The steady decline over the last ten years has left a €6 billion gap in the group's business.
Five million meals in 2023
The challenge is to ensure that La Poste's 65,000 employees "continue to serve the country, even when there are no more letters", said Wahl, adding that La Poste is making a "strategic gamble" with parcel and meal delivery, which it "is in the process of winning".
With its several parcel delivery services - Colissimo, Chronopost and DPD - La Poste is "by far" the biggest player in the French domestic parcel delivery market.
France's post office also also carries out ten percent of food deliveries nationwide.
Working with community centres, hospitals and caterers, drivers bring more than 15,000 meals per day to mostly elderly people, Wahl said.
La Poste delivered 5 million meals last year and hopes to double that figure for 2024.
Read more on RFI English
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