"Over the next 4 years we will invest 3,1 billion euros with 67% of the total used for the transformation of the Group”. They are the words of Matthew Del Fante, CEO of Poste Italiane, in an exclusive interview with the Financial Times.
In particular, the British financial newspaper reported the strategy behind the new "2024 Sustain & Innovate" business plan and the success achieved in the various business units: from asset management to insurance, from digital payments to logistics. In addition, Del Fante underlined that the company is expanding its digital offer based on the cloud in conjunction with the success achieved by its platform for booking and administering vaccines.
“It is clear that within 10 to 20 years post office traffic will drop and we will not be able to keep everything open,” he told the Financial Times. “That's why we are creating products that can be sold outside the post office. We must provide our customers with the services they need, following the trends of e-commerce growth, digital payments and the interaction between citizens and government”.
The Poste Pay division has registered a turnover of 737 million euros in 2020. This is due to a 10% increase in digital payments and a nearly 60% increase in e-commerce transactions over the period. The company is also nurturing young customers through digital payment applications and credit cards. According to data, three quarters of Italians under 30 have a Poste Italiane payment card.
As far as logistics is concerned, however, the Group is collaborating with global e-commerce players such as Amazon, a rare example of a collaboration between a global platform and a national shipping company to rebuild the non-profit shipping industry.
Furthermore, the CEO underlined to the Financial Times that in order to best play its leading role in the digitization of Italy, the company must maintain its capillary physical presence with 12.800 post offices. “Only companies that maintain their physical presence in the area can play an active role in the digitization of the country, because the digital divide (between generations) will continue for many years, and therefore we will not be able to do without the physical infrastructure”.
Finally, Del Fante observed that "it would be very difficult to manage savings of 570 billion euros, if we did not have a strong physical presence in the country".
