Personal services, delivery of medicines, medical equipment, etc. Seniors are the main target of La Poste’s diversification strategy.
The health and better aging at home sector is booming. It is a buoyant market, the good development prospects of which have not escaped the notice of La Poste. The historic company invests heavily in home help and Silver economy (the senior economy), through user services or strategic partnerships.
“Watch over my parents”, “My medication at home”, and perhaps soon the delivery of meal trays: La Poste uses the local network of mail carriers to support the home offer. At the same time, it also invests in companies linked to health.
La Poste is currently awaiting the green light from the competition authority for its plan to acquire a majority stake in a home healthcare player, Asten santé, whose turnover is around 100 million euros. Through this subsidiary, it will therefore be present in the home care market and the sale of medical equipment.
Delphine Mallet, director of the Silver economy business unit of the La Poste group, explains the group’s strategy.
What new services does La Poste offer?
Delphine Mallet: The news of the moment is “Watching over my parents”. The system is based on a postman’s service, which carries out social link visits with the elderly. He goes home up to six times a week, and gives the family a little information on the state of health of their loved one. We have included with this service a remote assistance offer, that is to say a call button in case of emergency.
In the same way, and with the help of the Giphar group, we have been experimenting for a few months in Bordeaux, and soon in Vendée and Loire-Atlantique, the delivery of medicines to the homes of individuals. An application, “My medications at home”, will allow you to order a postman pass to collect the prescriptions. He will take them to the pharmacist, who will prepare the medication, and the postman will deliver them to the door. This service is always done in conjunction with the local pharmacy.
Delphine Mallet, director of the Silver economy business unit of the La Poste group: “Under no circumstances do we perform medical or semi-medical interventions …”
Isn’t it risky to attack the healthcare market?
Delphine Mallet: In any case, we do not perform medical or semi-medical interventions. Our postmen are trained to “Watch over my parents”. It is a specific training with the help of the gerontopôle of Pays-de-Loire, on how to interact with an elderly person, and on the particular difficulties they would have to encounter in the homes of the elderly. Their mission ends where that of specialized services, especially medical emergencies, begins. They are neither aspiring firefighters, nor aspiring doctors or nurses. They will know what to do in the event of a problem, but always in contact with specialists.
Why this particular market?
Delphine Mallet: La Poste, faced with the transformation of its economic model and the sharp drop in historical mail volumes, wanted to continue diversifying the services it offers, so as to maintain a dense network of letter carriers. It has always been a close human service, at home. It will continue to be so with an expanded range of services. Sometimes we operate them ourselves; other times, with partners, or even with new subsidiaries, because there are jobs that the letter carriers will not do.
In its new phase of development, and when interesting sectors effectively complement a range of services that La Poste can offer at home, it will take a stake in companies that allow it to enter these market segments.
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