An Post Ríoga
 | |
| Traded as | SSE: APR |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1641 |
| Headquarters | Spalgleann, Caldia |
| Products | |
Number of employees | 24,700 |
| Website | www |
An Post Ríoga (The Royal Post), also known simply as An Post (The Post), is the name of the Caldish postal service. It is a privately owned company and is listened on the Spálgleann Stock Exchange, having been privatized in 2009. It was previously owned by the Minister of Transport and Communication and had a monopoly on providing all mail in the country. The company receives some subsidies from the Caldish government in order to provide services to remote parts of the country. After privatization, the company phased out many of its traditional post offices for postal service centers. These centers are found in supermarkets, convenient stores, banks, petrol stations, malls, and other retail locations. As of 2019, there are 45 post offices and 1700 post service centers. The company had 24,700 employees in 2019.
History
An Post was established in 1641 by Pól Mac Maol Dáire. It was originally known as Seirbhís an Phoist Ríoga (The Royal Post Service). Mac Maol Dáire established An Post as a private enterprise, but had received the support of Queen Maeve III. It was run privately until 1749 when the Caldish state took over the company.
It was operated as a government agency until 1988 when it was made a government-owned limited corporation. An Post was one of two state-owned companies that was not privatized in the 1980s. After a consistent loss of revenue, the company was privatized in 2009. Upon privatization, the company was renamed An Post Ríoga. Alexis Walker, who was responsible for its privatization, pushed for legislation that also ended An Post's monopoly over mail delivery, allowing for competition. Following the deregulation of the Caldish postal market, An Post still remains the single largest mail provider.
In 2011, the company began to reduce its number of post offices and introduced a network of franchises. The total number of post offices was cut from 89 to 45. To date, 1700 franchise locations had been opened in retail centers. Staff has also gradually been reduced since 2009.
Operations
The company remains the single largest provider of regular mail in Caldia. It is also the largest distributor for advertising mail and packages.
First-class mail is sent using trucks and planes to some locations. All second-class mail is transported by rail. The Caldish government provides subsidies to An Post in order for it to make deliveries to remote areas. Delivery to rural regions and small communities in the Caldish Highlands is done at a loss of profit. The government provides subsidies to allow for deliveries to continue and pays all operation and personnel costs for mail services in some regions.
The current Managing Director and CEO is Aodhán Mac Donnchadh, who has led An Post since 2017.
Slogan and branding
The companies slogan is "Of course we can", which was first adopted in the 1990s.
In 2015, An Post introduced its current logo. Like all previous symbols of the agency, it features the Crown of Caldia and a postal horn.