Competition for PostNL as Spotta registers as Dutch postal carrier
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By Simone Jacobs
Distributor of advertising flyers Spotta has registered with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) to deliver addressed mail. This would provide some competition for PostNL, which has had a monopoly over Dutch mail delivery for six years.
Spotta aims to deliver addressed mail in the Netherlands
Currently Spotta delivers over 4,2 million unaddressed advertising flyers and weekly newspapers per week. Now the company wants to expand its services to include the delivery of direct mail, Spotta confirmed on its website.
Not planning to deliver letters or postcards, but just direct mail advertising, Spotta has registered as a postal carrier to provide businesses with more options for delivery services. The company that will now be direct competition for PostNL is planning on investing 20 million euros in the next few years to offer mail services.
“Realisation of that investment is of course dependent on the space that the Minister of Economic Affairs wants to offer to innovations and competition on the postal market,” said Spotta CEO Yme Pasma. “We will see that soon when the Minister informs the House of Representatives about the new Postal Act.” Adjustments to the postal law would make it easier for providers such as Spotta to break into the mail delivery market in the Netherlands.
Increasing competition for PostNL
After acquiring Sandd - a competitor that also delivered mail, magazines and parcels - in 2019, PostNL has had a monopoly in the postal market, NOS reports. With Spotta claiming the ability to offer cheaper delivery of addressed mail, PostNL will now have competition in this area.
This will be in addition to parcel delivery competitors DHL and UPS. As people living in the Netherlands send fewer letters and cards, addressed advertising mail is a more lucrative option for delivery companies than tedious letterbox mail delivery.
The Dutch postal service has been pushing for the rules to be relaxed so that letters only need to be delivered two days per week instead of the usual five, as the mail division continues to post a financial loss.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training. Read more