John Lewis becomes latest to desert Royal Mail
John Lewis has joined a growing number of retailers deserting Royal Mail because of the planned national postal strike.
The retailer says it wants to avoid any disruption to online deliveries in the run-up to Christmas.
“We have ensured that postal strikes don’t affect our customers by switching the business to other carriers. We work with a number of different carriers for contingency to provide an uninterrupted service,” the retailer says.
Royal Mail employees voted in favour of industrial action last week. The Communication Workers Union will have to give seven days notice of any strike action.
The move by John Lewis follows reports that Amazon, eBay and Argos are all discussing moving business away from Royal Mail.
Last week, a survey from the British Chambers of Commerce found three-quarters of the 250 businesses it polled are considering using an alternative delivery service.
The British Retail Consortium today (13 October) warned that the recent upturn in online and mail-order sales of non-food goods could be reversed by the planned strikes.
Sharon Hardiman, head of non-store retailing at the BRC, says: “Online’s slice of overall Christmas spending hinges heavily on customers being sure retailers can get the goods to them. Online shopping is a big source of growth for Royal Mail. We all need common sense to prevail quickly.”
