Double whammy for SingPost as rising competition coincides with leadership shake-up

Three senior execs have resigned this year.

The Postman is definitely having a good year as competition has begun to intensify in the logistics market, while simultaneously losing key personnel from the top of its leadership hierarchy.

According to a report by Maybank Kim Eng, just recently, its COO Sascha Hower resigned to pursue overseas opportunities. Hower is also the CEO of Quantium Solutions, SingPost's primary logistics subsidiary in the region.

With the resignation, Maybank KE says this development could prompt Alibaba to re-evaluate its proposed acquisition of a 34% stake in Quantium Solutions as part of its JV with SingPost.

To make things worse, the report noted that there could be further negative newsflow from on-going investigations by ACRA into breaches of the companies.

Meanwhile, the transition of top-management could divert employees' attention from the core business and integration of massive M&As done by the previous board and management.

“Logistics is a highly competitive industry with low barriers to entry. However, the Singapore logistics scene is an unoptimised one, especially when it comes to last-mile connections. Japan-based Yamato, which has made good progress in its Asia expansion, is a regional player worth watching,” Maybank Kim Eng said.