Quoted – Some competitors hope to capitalize on proposed cessation of Saturday mail delivery

Some competitors hope to capitalize on proposed cessation of Saturday mail delivery

The United States Postal Service‘s proposal to cut expenses by ending Saturday delivery is already causing a ruckus. Mail carriers object, some consumers will whine loudly, and Congress is sure to chime in.

Competitors, at least some of them, hope to take advantage of the vacuum.

“Whenever any organization is having financial problems, it’s always to the advantage of those companies that aren’t having financial problems,” said Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

Depending on authorizing legislation, the Postal Service will drop Saturday deliveries as one way to combat declining revenues and its huge deficit.

Although FedEx Corp. and the United Parcel Service of America Inc., the Postal Service’s two largest competitors, are keeping mum, Testa believes they could capitalize on the Post Office’s troubles by emphasizing Saturday delivery, among other ways. He suggests, for instance, they could offer a product similar to the Postal Service’s popular flat-rate boxes.

“I think people like that,” he said. “People like the idea, especially if you shop a lot, that you can order 10 boxes and no matter what you put in it, it’s the same rate. I like it, most consumers like it.”
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=161915