The red coloured post boxes went up for sale earlier this month and it took three hours for about 1,000 of them to be sold out. (Representational image/ Wikimedia Commons) Denmark’s state-run postal service PostNord is all set to end its letter deliveries by December 30, citing a 90% decline in letter volumes, which would cease a 400-year old tradition.
PostNord, which was formed after a merger of Swedish and Danish postal services in 2009, announced earlier this year that it would cut 1,500 jobs in Denmark and remove about 1,500 red coloured post boxes due to “increasing digitalisation” of Danish society.
PostNord, in a statement, said that demand for letters have “drastically fallen” as online shopping continued to increase which prompted the company to focus instead on parcels. The company added that Denmark is also “one of the most digitalised countries in the world.”
The red coloured post boxes went up for sale earlier this month and it took only three hours for about 1,000 of them to be sold out. The price of those boxes which were in good condition was set at £235 each and while those which were a little more well-worn were priced at £176 each. Another 200 post boxes will be auctioned in January.
PostNord, which would continue its services in Sweden, said that it will initiate refunds for unused Danish stamps for a limited period of time. However, Danish people will be able to send letters via another Danish company named Dao, which is already in the business of delivering letters in the country.
Story continues below this ad
The Danish postal service has been continuing to deliver letters since 1624 but the country has seen a massive plunge in sending letters to the tune of 90%. Though Dao has said that its research shows people aged between 18-34 send two to three times as many letters as other age groups.
The Danish law mandates that the option to send the letter must remain in existence, which means if Dao also shuts its shop and ceases delivering letters, the government in Denmark would be bound to appoint some other company to do the same.