Moonpig raises alarm over Royal Mail delays in the run-up to Christmas, which turn into £33.3m loss

Moonpig has raised the alarm about Royal Mail deliveries ahead of Christmas.

Moonpig’s CEO Nickyl Raithatha has said he is in discussions with the delivery company about service levels as many parts of the country ‘struggle’ with the reliability of deliveries.

His comments come as billionaire Daniel Kretinsky – known as the Czech Sphinx – seals a £3.6 billion deal to buy Royal Mail through the acquisition of its parent company International Distribution Services.

Raithatha said: ‘We are working with (Royal Mail) to ensure they continue to improve service levels which in recent years have not been at the level we would like.

‘If you send someone a birthday card and their birthday is tomorrow, it should be there tomorrow.

“There are a lot of regions that are struggling (with reliability), and you probably only have to talk to a few of your friends and some will say the mail arrives every day and some won’t.”

Moonpig posted a loss of £33.3m in the six months to October 31, amid gloomy consumer confidence after making a profit of £18.9m a year earlier.

In a report published in October, regulator Ofcom said Royal Mail ‘remained subject to service obligations’.

In the 12 months to the end of March, just 74.5 percent of first-class deliveries arrived on time, compared to the target of 93 percent.

Last year, Royal Mail hailed its ‘best Christmas’ in four years, after a huge effort to make up for a chaotic festive operation in 2022.

According to the report, more than 99 percent of first- and second-class items shipped before the last recommended mailing date were delivered in time for Christmas.

But many consumers and small businesses are wary after strike action caused parcels and cards to pile up in sorting offices across the UK.

This warning has led to Moonpig sending out reminders to customers for special occasions such as birthdays to ensure cards were sent out in time to account for delays.

But Raithatha shrugged off concerns about the takeover.

‘We talk quite regularly (with Royal Mail) and we’ve had a lot of reassurances about that

the quality and level of service we get would not be affected by any kind of ownership change,” he said.