Royal Mail dropped by Currys as strikes threaten Christmas deliveries

Currys has ditched Royal Mail as its delivery provider to avoid damage from one of the country’s most bitter industrial disputes in the crucial run-up to Christmas.

FTSE 250 electric retailer has made the decision to stop using Royal Mail ahead of its most important trading period, according to city sources.

The move is likely temporary and relates to smaller items sold by the group, which enjoys a 25% share of the retail market for tech products and services.

But the sources added that the decision was not taken lightly, as it imposes disruptions to Currys’ online business during the busiest time of the year. Last year, it announced £2.5 billion in online sales in the UK, the equivalent of 45% of its total domestic sales, as a combination of home delivery and click-and-collect.

Most large retailers have contracts with multiple logistics partners. It is understood that some of those who stuck with Royal Mail have shifted some of the demand to competitors for fear of a Christmas deadlock.

Carey’s most radical decision comes with a dispute between the Royal Mail Board and a workforce of 150,000 at boiling point.

The Communications Workers’ Union (CWU), whose general secretary Dave Ward claimed in an interview with the Telegraph on Sunday that Britain faces a “virtual general strike”, is resisting Royal Mail’s demands for major reforms to labor practices.

Royal Mail had to bring forward Christmas publishing deadlines by up to a week due to strikes.

Further strikes are planned for December 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24.

Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson has pledged changes to adapt its network to deliver parcels without union bosses’ blessing if needed. About 10,000 jobs had already been designated lost, with Thompson warning that more layoffs would be necessary if the strikes continued for much longer.

Along with chairman Keith Williams, the former British Airways chief executive, the Royal Mail board is under pressure from shareholders to transform the former nationalized company so it can compete with tech-savvy rivals such as Amazon.

Bosses want to move from a more rigorous six-day-a-week messaging process to focus on delivering packages seven days a week. Saturday messages can also be cancelled. Changes in work practices include postponing morning rounds until employees finish shifts later and relying more on sorting posts automatically rather than manually.

The company is losing more than £1m a day and shares of the former FTSE 100 company have halved since the start of the year.

The share price drop has erased £3bn from Royal Mail’s market value – and caused a paper loss of more than £500m for its largest shareholder, Vesa, the investment vehicle owned by Daniel Kretinsky, the “Czech Sphinx” energy magnate who owns Also large quantities. stakes in Sainsbury’s Football Club and Premier League West Ham United.

One of Royal Mail’s top five shareholders said: “It is very clear that Royal Mail is in dire need of modernization in order to become more efficient and therefore competitive in a market that is increasingly focused on parcels rather than letters.

“This will put the business on a sustainable path to profitability that will benefit both employees and shareholders and we fully support management’s efforts to achieve this.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We have been clear with CWU from the start that an industrial strike is undermining the confidence of our customers. We operate in a competitive market, and our customers have choices. The ongoing strike will force our customers to make these choices sooner rather than later.”

“The strike action has already cost our staff £1,000 and is putting more jobs at risk. The money for the wages deal should go to our people, but it risks being eroded by the additional costs of the strike.”

Carey declined to comment.