Regions were asked to select unnecessary post offices for rent
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The government is developing new support measures for the operation of the most unprofitable branches of Russian Post. The Ministry of Digital Development, in particular, asks regional authorities to evaluate the possibility of closing some offices in cities with a population of more than 10 thousand, so that funds from leasing premises can be used to support points in villages. The board of directors of the company itself, however, doubts the effectiveness of the mechanism and insists on finding alternative sources of financing.
Kommersant got acquainted with the letter from the Ministry of Digital Development sent to regional authorities on November 15. It follows from it that instead of the fee from marketplaces that has been discussed for several months (which “creates an additional financial burden for them”), the ministry proposes to optimize the network of post offices. In particular, we are talking about closing some offices in cities with a population of more than 10 thousand people that have “a developed infrastructure for the delivery of goods and the issuance of parcels, chain stores and bank branches.” The vacated premises should be rented out, and the income from it (and saved costs) should be used to ensure the operation, repair and modernization of branches in villages.
The Ministry of Digital Development considers it necessary to maintain at least one branch of Russian Post in each city, where some of the released employees will be transferred. The regions must work on the proposal and send lists of post offices that can be closed “without deteriorating the customer experience” by December 1. The ministry did not answer Kommersant. Russian Post declined to comment.
In 2022, Russian Post received a loss of 30.4 billion rubles. The company’s debt amounted to 133 billion rubles, while most of it “has no sources of return and repayment,” admitted Mikhail Volkov, who headed Russian Post in January, in July. The company is trying to find mechanisms to reduce losses; one of the ideas was an “infrastructure fee” from marketplaces. However, market participants strongly opposed the initiative.
Alexander Khinshtein, a member of the board of directors of Russian Post and head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, told Kommersant that he does not know about the idea of the Ministry of Digital Development, but considers it “unwise to close branches either in urban or rural areas.” According to him, there are other options for financing Russian Post, in particular, increasing joint turnover with marketplaces due to the growth of orders. “If that doesn’t help, an infrastructure payment is one of the possible options,” he continues.
According to the website of Russian Post itself, about 311 thousand people work in its 38 thousand branches. More than 70% of branches are unprofitable, says Kommersant’s interlocutor familiar with the company’s activities. However, he doubts that the mechanism proposed by the Ministry of Digital Development will be effective: “Most branches that may be closed will most likely be written off due to their condition.” According to Kommersant’s source, one of the possible mechanisms for improving the company’s financial condition may be a model of working with franchise partners: “In this case, the post office would receive stable royalties.”
ANO Digital Economy, on the contrary, believes that “the proposal of the Ministry of Digital Development can have the necessary economic effect in supporting, developing and modernizing branches.” “This is an example of a constructive approach to solving a problem, which will utilize and allow for the redistribution of Russian Post’s resources,” the organization added.
Commercial real estate market experts admit that Russian Post branches, which are in good condition and located in cities, may be in demand by tenants. “But some of the branches are in very dilapidated condition, which requires significant capital expenditures for repairs,” clarifies Andrey Lukashev, partner at the consulting company ILM.
As a rule, Russian Post branches are located in areas of mass residential development, in close proximity to consumers, so potential demand from tenants is possible in any segment: from services to grocery supermarkets, says the deputy head of the “Shopping Centers” department of the “Shop Stores” Alexander Bolotnikov. CORE.XP believes that the branches may be of interest to local entrepreneurs or federal businesses for organizing, for example, order pick-up points.
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