MAIL division

Business units and market positions

The postal service for Germany

Deutsche Post DHL is Europe’s largest postal company, delivering 66 million letters every working day in Germany. We offer all types of products and services to both consumers and business customers, ranging from standard letters and merchandise to special services such as cash on delivery and registered mail. Customers can now purchase stamps at retail outlets, stamp dispensers, online or right from their mobile telephone via text message.

In July 2010, we launched our new E-Postbrief product, a secure, confidential and reliable form of electronic communication. One million consumers had opted for it within four months. We have also sealed the first 100 contracts with business customers. Customers initially sign up to receive an address and login information, after which they must present valid identification in order to become E-Postbrief users. A unique feature of the E-Postbrief is the hybrid letter, which can reach customers who have not yet signed up to the electronic E-Postbrief portal. Here, electronic letters are printed out and delivered reliably by a postal carrier just like traditional mail.

Our mail business focuses on Germany, where the mail market has been fully liberalised since the beginning of 2008. Competition has become more intense since then and the increasing use of electronic forms of communication has resulted in domestic mail market shrinkage. In the year under review, the market decreased by 4.8% to around €6.0 billion (previous year: €6.3 billion). Our share fell slightly to 86.6%.