NZ Post shutting stores, axing jobs

File photo

NZ Post is shutting seven stores, and seven others will be rebranded as PostCentres, the company announced this morning.

The changes are expected to affect 90 staff, although the number of redundancies remains unclear.

The Post Shop and Kiwibank stores tagged for closure include four in Auckland, two in Wellington and one in Dunedin.

They are; Triton Plaza (North Shore), Nth Shore Mail Centre, Symonds Street (Auckland), Greenmount (Auckland), The Terrace (Wellington), 43 Manners St (Wellington), Dunedin Metro.

"Similarly it is proposed seven stores will change to PostCentres, offering full postal and courier services," the company said.

Those stores include; Grey Lynn (Auckland), Parnell (Auckland), Avondale (Auckland), Fitzroy (New Plymouth), Manawatu Mail Centre (Palmerston North), Carterton, Miramar.

The first of the store changes would begin to be implemented from late next month, the company said.

New Zealand Post chairman Michael Cullen told Parliament's commerce committee in March that difficult trading conditions and a flat economy continued to negatively affect business.

NZ Post continued to suffer a decline in its traditional business and the recession had compounded that as firms and government made savings by cutting bulk postage.

NZ Post chief executive Brian Roche said customers expected more, were time sensitive and did not like queuing. The company needed to consider how it could best service those needs, Roche said.

"To help achieve this New Zealand Post is investing significantly in technology such as self-service kiosks that will see New Zealanders able to access services in more locations and with greater convenience.

"New Zealand Post will at the same time, however, have to close some stores where they are no longer best positioned or where there are other PostShop Kiwibank stores in close proximity.

In other areas the company would will be changing the mix of services being offered - for example the retention of full postal and courier services, but the removal of banking services.

- Susie Nordqvist