Extensive SWOT Analysis of La Poste – The Postal & Express Courier Services Industry in France

Updated on: Nov 30, 2021
SWOT Analysis of La Poste - Featured Image

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In our last article, we covered the extensive SWOT analysis of an Indian Logistics Service Provider – Xpressbees. In this article, we are going to break down the SWOT analysis of La Poste – the leader of the postal services industry in France. 

La Poste is among the major companies in the postal and express courier services industry in France. They hold expertise in parcel services, letter post services, banking and insurance. 

Their postal activities are declining because of the rise in the internet industry, but still operating in profit. Their other activities such as parcel delivery, banking and insurance are making profits. Another attribute that can make La Poste a giant in its industry is its marketing efforts. 

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In this article, we will learn the SWOT analysis of La Poste but before that let us know the company’s history, competitors, services and more.

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About La Poste

Boites aux lettres de couleur jaune, usager, depot d'une lettre
(La Poste Mailbox, Source: Les Echos)

The company was founded in 1991 headquartered at Colonel Pierre Avia, Paris, France. La Poste became a public limited company in 2010. It is by far the largest provider for mail delivery in France. The company was created after the split of the French Telegraph and Telephone company and until then La Poste was responsible for postal services.

The company has a large distribution network covering almost every city in France along with the cities of Monaco and Andorra and handled 15 billion messages in 2012, of which 97% implied an administration or a firm.

In the year 2000, La Poste inaugurated GeoPost, its logistics and parcel delivery subsidiary. The next year, La Poste launched its online trading platform to come up with online banking services. Along with all this, La Poste also runs an online platform to keep their customers updated about their package.

Quick Stats on La Poste
Founder Louis XI
Year Founded 1991
Origin Paris, France
No. of Employees 249,304
Company Type Public Limited
Market Cap € 1,476 Million (2020)
Annual Revenue € 25,983 Million (2019)
Net Income/ Profit € 822 Million (2019)

 

Products & Services by La Poste

SWOT Analysis of La Poste - La Poste Range of Services
(La Poste Range of Services, Source: Saint-Quentin)

Following are the services provided by La Poste:

  • Package Track and Trace Service
  • Mail Delivery
  • Banking and Insurance


Competitors of La Poste

La Poste competes with other companies in France such as:

  • Deutsche post-DHL group
  • DX Group
  • TForce Logistics
  • Whitacre Logistics


Now that we understand the company’s key business, let’s look after the SWOT Analysis of La Poste.


SWOT Analysis of La Poste

A SWOT Analysis of La Poste is a 2×2 matrix that lays out the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is an effective tool that helps in determining the plans and actions to be committed by the company shortly.

We shall do a thorough SWOT Analysis of La Poste to gain insights into the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable for a company.

To better understand the SWOT analysis of La Poste, refer to the infographic below:

SWOT Analysis of La Poste - SWOT Infographics of La Poste

So let us first start by looking at the strengths of La Poste from the SWOT analysis of La Poste.

Strengths of La Poste

Strengths are the factors that help the company to gain an advantage over its competitors thus increasing the market share.

  • Strong Reach: La Poste has many outlets throughout the country and a strong distribution channel ensures that their products and services are easily available to their customers.
  • Trusted Dealers: La Poste maintains a strong relationship with their dealers which provide them with supplies and also helps them in promoting their products by explaining to customers how they can be benefitted from their products.
  • Strong cash flow: La Poste has maintained a strong cash flow throughout its journey in the logistics industry enabling it to cover obligations, reinvest in its business, pay expenses and provide security against financial challenges.
  • Automation: This has created a new process in various stages of production by efficiently using the resources and reducing the cost of the final product. This has ensured the launch of quality products.
  • Product Portfolio: La Poste offers a wide range of products and services. It has grabbed market share with several unique products which are not even offered by its competitors.


Weaknesses of La Poste

The areas in which the company needs to improve themselves to exist in the market and outplay its competitors.

  • Market Research: La Poste has not conducted market research for the last two years and they are working on two years past data which is not updating them with the latest tastes and preferences of the consumer.
  • Decision Making: The decision-making process is slow and management has to confirm every crucial decision with officials. This leads to delays in important work.
  • Research and Development: The investment done by La Poste officials in research and development is way lower than other companies within the same industry which leads to reduced innovation.
  • Financial Planning: The financial plans of this company have not been laid wisely by the management which leads to diversified investments in the sectors not required.
  • Rented Property: La Poste has more proportion of rented properties rather than their own which at last results in large amounts of rent expenses reducing its profit.


Opportunities for La Poste

The company needs to grab the available opportunities within the time frame to make the most use of them, making themselves hold a stronger position in the market.

  • Social Media: There has been an increase in internet users worldwide. So, La Poste needs to make a presence on the internet using various digital marketing skills to make a reach on the new set of audience by promoting its services. If you also want to upskill by learning digital marketing skills then do check out IIDE 13+ short term courses in digital marketing to know more.
  • Globalisation: This has allowed the companies to expand their activities on a global level. La Poste needs to target cities beyond France, Andorra and Monaco to enter the new markets and grab the opportunities that lie there.
  • Skilled Workforce: Progress in education and training has increased the number of skilled workers throughout the region. Now the management needs to hire them to perform their work effectively and efficiently along with reduced costs. 
  • Increase in Trade: There has been a rise in the trade of manufactured goods around the globe resulting in increased transportation of goods which can also increase the business of La Poste.
  • Tax Policy: The government has eased the tax burden from this sector which is beneficial for La Poste as it can invest its money wherever needed.


Threats to La Poste

Threats are the challenges for the company which can stop the company from meeting its objectives in the long run.

  • New Entrants: Numerous players have entered the logistics industry which has created cutthroat competition in the domestic market for La Poste. This is a threat for the company as they might lose their customers.
  • Substitute Products: The growth in substitute products has increased a threat for the whole industry as consumption of regular products has also decreased.
  • Fuel Prices: The rise in fuel prices worldwide has increased the cost of transportation of packages which is their core business which might unstable the company in the long run. So the company needs to find an alternative to deal with it.
  • Technological Upgradation: The constant technological up-gradation is forcing companies to regularly upskill their employees and the inability to keep themselves updated are resulting in losses.
  • Promotions by Competitors: The competitors are promoting their product portfolio in full flow and customers are bombarded with promotional messages. This reduces the effectiveness of promotional messages by La Poste.


This ends our extensive SWOT analysis of La Poste. Let us conclude our learning below.

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To Conclude

La Poste is a French company that looks after various services like mail delivery, letter posts, parcels, banking and insurance. They have been one of the leading companies in France. It also offers webmail services, email addresses and hosts approximately 2 million active email accounts.

In the SWOT analysis of La Poste, we observed that the company has made a presence across the nation and their brands are doing well in the market but still face stiff competition due to the existence of other companies. Their management needs to work more efficiently to be with the movements of the market.

They can look after the growth of digital transformations and can adapt to the new segment accordingly. If you too are interested in learning advanced digital marketing strategies, check out  IIDE’s 3 Month Advanced Online Digital Marketing Course to know more.

We hope this blog on the SWOT analysis of La Poste has given you a good insight into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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