Post Fiji Launches Commemorative Stamps
Post Fiji is as old as rugby in Fiji, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said while launching celebrations at the organisation’s 150th anniversary.
“The sheer longevity of this institution speaks to the vital role it plays in the life of the nation,” he said.
“No business can thrive for 15 decades unless the work that they do matters - and your work most certainly does.
“This business has never been about one person or one letter.
“It is about the hundreds of thousands of people and the hundreds of thousands of letters, newspapers, packages and correspondence that have connected Fijians to each other and to the world for a century and a half.
“Imagine the decades of happiness you’ve helped deliver.
“That is the legacy you steward.
“That is the legacy we celebrate.”
Post Fiji’s sesquicentennial celebration began earlier in the week, with some charity work and helping near-retirees who have served the company for 25 years to 37 years.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Post Fiji service volumes were up by 20 percent, Mr Bainimarama said.
“As essential personnel, when the nation locked down you flew into action, crossing containment area borders to deliver packages to families who were staying safely at home,” he said.
“Even when their doors were shuttered, entrepreneurs relied on your network to reach their online customers - helping them weather the most difficult economic chapter in our history.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed transformation into overdrive –– sending data usage in Fiji up by 300 per cent ––at a rate that isn’t stalling or even slowing, Mr Bainimarama said.
Post Fiji is adapting alongside new technologies and consumer habits, an increasingly moved online, he said.
“You’ve identified opportunity in the rural and maritime market and, thanks to a new range of products, you can nearly do a whole
day’s shopping in any one of your stores,” Mr Bainimarama said.
“That is progress.
“Post Fiji –– the largest distribution network in the country –– must become the most digitally-savvy delivery service in the Pacific.”
Niche philatelic market
Four stamps were launched to commemorate Post Fiji’s 150th anniversary.
Head of retail and marketing, Isaac Mow, said the 42 cents stamp - the cheapest of the four - was for local posts, while the higher
valued stamps are for the overseas market.
“We have two different types of stamps,” he said.
“There’s the definitive stamps, which has no shelf life.
“The commemorative stamps have a shelf life of two years only.
“After two years,we take it off the shelf. “But that’s when it becomes more valuable, because it’s only on request.”
The philatelic market is a niche market, with 99 per cent of stamp collectors abroad.
“Even before this step was published, customers have already paid for it,” Mr Mow said.
Changes are coming
Post Fiji looks forward to more technologydriven advances, chief executive officer, Anirudha Bansod said.
Changes proposed by the company could include artificial intelligence with Blockchain technology, or even incorporating EMS to the next level with the applications.
“Where you live, you will see a lot of changes happening,” he said.
Mr Bansod, said sustaining the company’s workforce through the economically challenging times that the1 COVID-19 pandemic brought, paid off. “All the staff has also shown that sort of loyalty and solidarity with the Post Fiji,” he said.
“And that’s where we are sustaining the business.”
Message from Post Fiji
Not many get to share a significant moment in time, such as a sesquicentennial 150th anniversary celebration.
“This is by a remarkable feat,” Post Fiji board chairman, Lawrence Tikaram, said.
“Post Fiji Limited can shout out to the world that in this tiny, small, vibrant nation, the jewel in the Pacific, Fiji, we have achieved a milestone, and we have achieved it with grace and humility.”
Post Fiji’s high touch point model has raised standards of living and communication through the delivery of its services, he said.
By the end of the year, Post Fiji will have reached 100 per cent online store services for its 58 outlets.
“The remaining five outlets will go online to bring us 100 per cent of our services online,”Mr Tikaram said.
“The future looks bright for Post Fiji than it was ever before.”