Australia Post is moving on a range of fronts to extract maximum value from its brand. On Monday it was announced that they are teaming with Jetstar for the retail of tickets; two weeks ago they announced their plan to franchise some of their 863 corporate stores; and, over the past year they have licensed the use of their brand on a large range of non post office products.

While this has been happening, Australia Post has been tweaking the range of products sold in their corporate stores – to the extent that you can’t distinguish between a PostShop and a stationery or newsagency business. In some PostShops less than 20% of retail space is used for retailing postal product.

All functions of Australia Post are supposed to revolve around postal services, according to of the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989 (paragraphs 14-16 of Division 1 or Part 2).

Newsagents are angry at Australia Post’s aggressive move to sell Jetstar tickets, greeting cards, telecommunications recharge, Western Union money transfer and, bill payment. They want to know how these functions are provided for under the Act. They also want to know how Australia Post can get away with leveraging its postal service brand into branding of mouse mats, CDs, diskettes and a range of general office products.

The Jetstar tickets move is especially curious. Jetstar would like Australia Post because of their traffic. That traffic is protected because the government controls who can sell stamps. Newsagents have technology in more than 3,000 retail locations capable of handling Jetstar requirements. The only difference is that we do not have a government protected monopoly guaranteeing more than 1 million customers a day. Many newsagents cannot sell stamps on an equitable basis.

Australia Post is a Corporation created by the Government to regulate the manufacture, distribution and retail of postal services. Selling office products is not incidental to the provision of postal services. Nor the sale of greeting cards or airline ticketes.