A privately-owned Oamaru postal service which uses local taxis to deliver mail wants to replicate its success in other regions through franchising.
Oamaru-based Whitestone Taxi owners Murray and Liz Bell, founded the registered postal service in May 2014 to provide financial relief for the taxi service.
“We’ve been in the postal business for nearly three years now, and results have exceeded our expectations,” says Murray Bell.
“It’s a win-win situation – our taxi service can make a reasonable income from postal deliveries during otherwise quiet periods, and customers receive guaranteed 24-hour mail delivery within the town’s boundary,” he says.
The service is a CBD-based 24-hour mail service. Mail is picked up at the door, sorted and franked, and then delivered the next day. The company usually delivers within 12 hours but guarantees delivery within 24 hours.
Delivery of a standard envelope business to business costs 80 cents with Whitestone Post, while business to personal mail costs $1.
Bell says he is proud of what the company has achieved and the collaborative relationship the company has with New Zealand Post.
All mail destined for personal customers outside the CBD is handled by New Zealand Post, as is all mail for out-of-town delivery.
“We asked New Zealand Post ‘what can we do to help you?’, And together we’ve come up with a solution that puts the customer first. We’re returning to the old model of postal service – running everything locally,” says Bell.
Whitestone Post is now preparing to move into other regions, offering franchises across the South Island in about two weeks’ time, and it is also supplying all equipment needed by franchisees.
“While it’s been very successful for us as a taxi company, the franchises will equally well suit any business looking to ‘add on’ to its existing operation. A printing or stationery shop would be an obvious example,” says Bell.
Expressions of interest commenced March 20.
