NZ Post has defended its decision to shutter more than 140 mail counters in urban centres.
Yesterday, the state-owned enterprise announced it would axe services from 142 urban retail partner stores nationwide this year, or around one in five urban locations.
Speaking to Breakfast, NZ Post's consumer general manager Sarah Sandoval said she wanted to make it clear this was "not a closure".
"We are no longer going to offer services in those outlets, but this is not a closure.
"That's really important, because these businesses will continue to trade, and they're really important partners that have had long partnerships with us, and have a role to play in their communities.
NZ Post defends counter closures as retail network reset continues - Watch on TVNZ+
"So I just really want to be really clear about that, that those businesses will continue to trade, and we will have still over 562 locations in New Zealand where Kiwis can access our services," she said.
Sandoval acknowledged for some customers this would "involve some change".
"We've taken some really careful decisions about the locations that remain, and we're really thinking about the kinds of services that Kiwis are accessing already, like going to the supermarket or a petrol station, and making sure our services are in those locations.
"It's really convenient for customers to sort of get in access to all of the services at the same time. What the data and information has told us is that that's actually what Kiwis are doing already today."
She said picking up and receiving parcels, particularly due to the e-commerce boom, was the main driver of postal services now.
"For us, this is about reshaping that network, choosing the locations that have the space for parcel collection and parcel services, and really making sure we're set up for for what Kiwis demand of us."
NZ Postal Union responds
John Maynard from the Postal Workers Union was critical of NZ Post, telling Breakfast he was "very unhappy" about "quite a lot of stuff going on" at the postal service.
He took issue with the way NZ Post communicated, saying it would "consistently act in a manner which undermined people's confidence in the postal network".
The postal service was also introducing new "retail hubs" which NZ Post said would "bring multiple services together in one convenient location, making it easier for customers to access what they need in a single visit" and which Maynard wanted to draw attention to.
He said it was a positive part of the changes.
"They will feature modern, customer-friendly spaces designed for parcel sending, collection and returns," a spokesperson for NZ Post said yesterday.
"Two hubs are already open in Newmarket and Hardinge Street in Auckland, with Christchurch and Palmerston North set to follow in the first half of 2026, with more locations planned across the country."
Maynard said consultation should be more widespread on postal network changes.
"When they ripped out all the roadside posting boxes and we lost count at 1500, we said to the company, 'why don't you go to the local newspapers?' and say 'look, we need to have a think about how many post boxes you need'. They flatly refused," he said.
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