When Australia doesn’t post

We media types spend so much time studying the Internet’s impact on the media business that sometimes you forget that the Internet is busy disrupting other traditional industries, or institutions.

Take Australia Post for example. I thought Mrs J was exaggerating when she told me there’s a good chance we’ll do most of our Christmas shopping at Australia Post this year. “They’ve got everything!” she exclaimed. Yeah, sure, whatever… Then she showed me the catalogue that had been stuffed in our letterbox. They really do sell everything. Kids toys, games, puzzles, tonnes of electronic stuff, and all those creative “what on earth will I get for Aunty Sue” type presents.

Australia Post’s problem is of course a very simple one. Why send snail mail when email is quicker and free (well, almost).  So when your core business is flat you do what any other business does – diversify. You can see the numbers on page 43 & 44 of Australia Post’s annual report here. To grossly simplify things, the organisation’s pacels and logistics and retail divisions are more profitable than the letters business. Ah, ya just gotta love the Net.