James Naughtie Interview with John Roberts on BBC Radio 4

James Naughtie: Consignia, what does that mean? Well it's not the Lazio centre forward who missed the sitter against Fiorentina. And it's not the man who's going to be singing La Boheme at Covent Garden next week. It is the Post Office. Why? John Roberts who's the Chief Executive is on the line John Roberts: It's not meant to mean anything, though it's got signs of trusting to the care of or consigning and things that people might associate with the Post Office. But the key thing, Jim, is that Post Office, the old name of the Post Office, doesn't quite represent what we now do; a lot more perhaps than the post and certainly we operate internationally through twenty companies that we own and we wanted a name that would go across international boundaries and help us with our biggest customers here. But also would build on the fact our basic very well-known brands here in the UK: Royal Mail, Parcel Force Worldwide and Post Office, meaning the shops in the high street, our network of branches, none of that changes so this is only a change … James Naughtie: Yes, no body has to go to Consignia for their pensions John Roberts: No, this is the group itself, not any of those … James Naughtie: But you say this doesn't mean anything but your press release says it's modern and meaningful which proves which proves that "meaningful" is a meaningless word. John Roberts: It's meaningful in the sense of all these brand names - they're things that can actually give an indication about the company and is an indicator, an identifier of the company. James Naughtie: Don't you worry that that's what Bob Ayling thought about his tail-fins? John Roberts: Well if I was spending millions and millions of pounds doing this, I might do. But what we're actually doing is spending about £2m mainly in connection with the fact that we're becoming a wholly government-owned plc on the 26th of March this year and of that about half a million pounds will change our group name. You know our group name was very little used in this country. It came out in our annual report and accounts. Most of the time people use Royal Mail, Parcel Force Worldwide, and Post Office meaning the shop and that's what we want to continue to do. James Naughtie: But do you think that Consignia's going to be a name on all our lips? John Roberts: I don't want it to be on all your lips here, it's going to be … James Naughtie: Well you're probably going to have your wish fulfilled … John Roberts: Yes, I think the key thing is that we'll have the name and we'll use it abroad. You know if you use the name "Post Office" abroad, every other country in the world tends to use the words Post Office. If we, as we are doing, want to operate abroad and across international boundaries, you need something which is a different identifier than that. I also think, if I may say so, that the idea of trusting to the care of and consigning, there is a link perhaps in the way some of the other names you may have in mind don't have, that still identify some of the characteristics of the Post Office. James Naughtie: Nice work for someone if you can get it to get £2m to think up a name like that … John Roberts: Well, they didn't. What I actually said was half a million pounds … James Naughtie: That's what it said in the press release, £2m to devise the name and half a million to buy it. John Roberts: No, I think you've got that wrong. What it actually said in the press release is that it takes us £2m to convert to a plc and that means doing all the things like changing names and identities and everything else. But half a million is around producing this name for the group in a way that will build on the fact that we'll keep all the other things - red vans, red pillar boxes, postmen's uniform, the names Royal Mail, Parcel Force Worldwide and Post Office meaning the shops - the same. James Naughtie: John Roberts of Consignia, thank you very much.