The Hindu Business Line : Dept of Posts ventures into tea marketing

The Department of Posts, Coimbatore Division has taken a lead among other divisions in the South by venturing into marketing of tea products. It has tied up with United Nilgiri Tea Estates Co Ltd for sale of the tea products from the latter's stable.

As many as 10 different tea products, including the organic, herbal and Chamraj Master blend, are expected to be made available for sale (at the counter) in 17 post offices in this division (comprising Coimbatore, Erode, Namakkal, Salem and Mettupalayam) to begin with.

The Department is planning to expand the reach by selling the teas across all its outlets in the South in a phased manner. Teas would be available in packets of 500 gm, 250 gm and 100 gm.

Hailing the initiative, the Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Coimbatore Division, Mr N. Krishnamoorthy, said that a good number of private companies had started co-ordinating with the Department of Posts to establish their presence and the Department leveraged on its network.

The Director of Chamraj Estate, Mr D. Hegde, said the sale of tea products through post offices would enable the company tap the huge opportunity in the domestic market. Chamraj Estate has until now favoured tea exports. Its annual exports are about one million kg. It is looking at doubling its exports in a span of five years.

Mr Hegde told Business Line that the company was planning to establish about 25 exclusive `tea boutiques' within the next 12 months. `We have four outlets in Bangalore and Coimbatore. We want to widen our presence both in the North and Southern States," he said.

Logistics post

The department is all set to launch `Logistics Post' by mid-May. Department sources said they were at present accepting parcel/packet up to 30 kg. The service would enable customers to book parcel beyond this weight up to one truckload.

Instant Money order

Yet another service is `Instant Money Order', to be introduced in the first week of May. While conceding that the IMO service would attract higher commission charges, department sources said the facility would enable the recipient receive the sum within an hour or two of transfer.

"It is similar to the Western Union money transfer service but the transfer is internal, within the country."

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