The post centre Sakta is one of four post offices in the historical centre of Riga, all located within a short distance of each other. In the last three years, Sakta has seen a 70% decrease in the flow of customers as a result of changes in habits of the population and the possibility to use a range of services remotely, significantly reducing the need to visit the post office in person. Moreover, due to rapid inflation and an increase in energy prices, the post centre Sakta has experienced significant increases in its maintenance costs, which have risen several times. Also, the layout of the post centre’s two-storey premises of 281 sq m in size prevents the entire facility from being used effectively for customer service.

 

“Online services and various modern solutions are becoming increasingly popular among people and are used more and more. As a company that keeps up with the times, we also provide our customers with a range of opportunities to receive the traditional services remotely, such as preparing postal items for sending via the self-service website Mans pasts (My Post), redirecting items and doing customs clearance of items in the mobile app, receiving and handing over items via courier or parcel lockers, purchasing stamps in the e-shop, etc., which customers are happy to use, but which organically reduces the flow of customers and the feasibility of maintaining post offices. We have been observing a similar trend also in the post centre Sakta for a long time now. In a situation where the flow of customers is small, the prices of energy sources are skyrocketing, there is no possibility to split or reduce the existing premises of the post centre in order to save money and there are three other post offices nearby, we have no other choice but to reorganise the operation of the post centre Sakta and ensure the provision of services in three other post offices located close by,” Mārcis Vilcāns, Chairman of the Board of Latvijas Pasts, explains.

 

According to the head of Latvijas Pasts, after the reorganisation of the post centre Sakta, customers in the central area of Riga will be able to receive postal services at three other post offices located less than one kilometre away from Sakta, such as Riga post office No. 10 at 41/43 Elizabetes Street, Riga post office No. 11 at 20 Marijas Street and Riga post office No. 50 in the shopping centre Origo at 2 Stacijas laukums. In the meantime, the employees of the post centre Sakta have been offered to continue working in other Latvijas Pasts post offices.

 

The number and locations of the post offices in Riga are determined by the Decision of the Public Utilities Commission’s Council on Determining the Universal Postal Service Obligations, which stipulates that Latvijas Pasts must provide at least 25 permanent post offices in Riga City. Latvijas Pasts complies with these conditions by providing postal services in 33 post offices.

 

 

 

Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with about 3,000 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.

 

 

 

Gundega Vārpa | Head of External Communications

E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; gundega.varpa@pasts.lv

 

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