Food delivery a new line for Guernsey Post

Under the name IsleDeliver, the service is being run independently from the company’s postal activities.

It was launched this week, with staff of four people – two from Guernsey Post and two new employees – and three refrigerated vehicles.

Initially, IsleDeliver will undertake deliveries for the Channel Islands Co-operative Society and Marks & Spencer.

Guernsey Post chief executive Boley Smillie said it was looking to meet a demand.

‘We believe there is a strong demand for a reliable grocery delivery service on the island and we are delighted to be partnering with a number of retailers that will ultimately provide local consumers with good choice and added convenience,’ he said.

Until lockdown there were very limited food delivery services in the island.

During the height of pandemic some supermarkets and wholesalers started to offer food delivery services, but these have not necessarily continued as restrictions eased.

Mr Smillie said it hoped to expand and provide a bespoke delivery service.

The delivery idea had been in the works for quite a time before lockdown, but Mr Smillie said lockdown had highlighted the need for food delivery services.

Guernsey Post has seen a long-term drop in letters and rise in parcels, as popularity has grown for emails and internet shopping. However, Mr Smillie said due to the change in volumes, parcels were not filling the gap.

‘The decrease in letters is more than the increase in parcels and parcels are more expensive to deliver,’ he said.

This has driven the need for the business to diversify.

Guernsey Post is owned by the States of Guernsey but operates independently.

Mr Smillie said when it came to competition, this would be similar to its parcel operation, where it competes with other parcel delivery firms.

Mr Smillie said there were other ideas for diversifying the business in the pipeline, but these were not being announced yet.