4. Australia Post
With large and sparsely populated rural areas to cover in the country's vast interior, Australia's national postal service faces economic dilemmas similar to those the USPS faces in covering the Mountain West and Great Plains, and its scores on all three measures have fallen in recent years.
But Australia Post has been a pioneer in finding innovative ways to raise revenue and maintain services in remote regions. These include allowing privately owned post offices in small towns that operate like franchises, with owners purchasing a license to provide official postal services.
These retail outlets also sell other items, including souvenirs, books, office supplies, and coffee and tea -- making them more like general stores that provide postal services than traditional post offices. Australia Post has also partnered with banks to provide financial services at rural locations.
Thanks to these initiatives, Australia Post raked in a profit of more than U.S. $290 million in 2011/2012.
GREG WOOD/AFP/GettyImages
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