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Ōrewa Paper Plus has ended its contract with NZ Post, which has run a postal agency in the store since 2020, potentially bringing to an end postal services within Ōrewa town centre.
Ōrewa Paper Plus owner, Kevin Francis, says he ended the contract because it made no commercial sense to keep it.
He says it cost his business to have the facility there, including providing two trained fulltime staff to operate the bill paying part of the service.
The idea is that postal services bring customers in store, but Francis says any such benefit was outweighed by the costs.
“Costs are going up, and the return from NZ Post is going down,” he says. “I looked at it closely because I understand the community impact and the importance of the service – but you can only subsidise it so much. It also takes up a fair chunk of my store that could be used for other things.”
He says since Covid-19 there have also been a small number of aggressive NZ Post customers to deal with.
Ōrewa Paper Plus advised NZ Post that it will end their contract on October 20.
NZ Post has been looking for alternatives in Ōrewa, which include Ray White Real Estate which is moving to the former ANZ building in Ōrewa next month.
If nowhere is found in Ōrewa for the postal service, the nearest ones will be Red Beach and Silverdale, although they are post only and neither has a bill and car registration paying service. The NZ Post Agency in Whangaparāoa Paper Plus, in Coast Plaza, has the bill paying option available.
Last week, NZ Post confirmed it is in discussions with a potential provider and will release further information in the near future.
