Consignia

Region

United Kingdom

Associated With

The Post Office Group plc - corporate group

Defining Feature

Holding-company identity alongside Royal Mail and Parcelforce

Status

Superseded - a return to the Royal Mail Group name was announced in 2002

Overview

Consignia was the short-lived corporate identity adopted by the former Post Office group in 2001.

Dragon designed the name and identity for a group seeking to reach beyond delivery into financial services, home shopping and e-commerce. Royal Mail and Parcelforce remained the consumer brands.

In June 2002, Consignia announced plans to adopt the Royal Mail Group name by year-end. A November filing for a separate operating-company line recorded a change from Consignia plc.

Why It Mattered

By retaining Royal Mail and Parcelforce as consumer brands, the group separated its corporate strategy from the names used for postal and parcel services. Consignia therefore became a corporate experiment: a way to present a broader business without replacing every public-facing postal brand.

Corporate Structure

• On 4 January 2001, company no. 04074919 legally changed its name from The Post Office Group plc to Consignia plc.
• The Department of Trade and Industry records the former Post Office entering the Consignia Holdings plc structure on 26 March 2001.
• The 2001–02 accounts identify Consignia plc as a wholly owned UK distribution-services subsidiary, reflecting a structure of distinct legal entities.

Identity and Brand Architecture

• Design Week attributed the Consignia name and corporate identity to Dragon, the Post Office’s incumbent brand consultancy.
• The trade report put the name-and-identity project at £2 million.
• The identity was intended to represent activities beyond delivery, including financial services, home shopping and e-commerce, while Royal Mail and Parcelforce remained consumer brands.

Return to the Royal Mail Name

• On 13 June 2002, the Government recorded Consignia’s announcement that it intended to adopt the Royal Mail Group corporate name by the end of the year.
• Companies House filing history for company no. 04138203 records a 4 November 2002 CERTNM filing described as a change from Consignia plc.
• That filing concerns a separate operating-company line from company no. 04074919, so the two name-change histories should not be treated as one legal sequence.

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