New Zealand Post: Banking on growth

New Zealand Post Limited (NZ Post) had provided mail services for more than 160 years and was one of the few postal organisations in the world operating in a deregulated market. While mail services were referred to as the engine room of NZ Post, there was an awareness of both the decreasing trend in traditional mail and the need to address that trend. In response to this issue Chief Executive John Allen together with NZ Post's management team considered a number of options, resulting in a deliberate decision to diversify NZ Post’s business around a central theme of "connecting people". This strategy led to the introduction of various services; one of the more controversial being the establishment of Kiwibank. In response to New Zealand’s banking industry characterised by 'lousy' service, high fees, and banking profits repatriated offshore, NZ Post introduced Kiwibank in 2001, against the recommendations of the New Zealand Treasury, the opposition party, the financial community, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). By early 2005 Kiwibank had expanded its operations to include a wide range of personal banking services throughout the 300 branches located around New Zealand. Innovation and growth were central to NZ Post’s plans for the future. The challenge ahead for both Allen and the organisation as a whole was to ensure NZ Post remained as relevant in the next 160 years as it has been in the past 160 years.