| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 29/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 5 |
| Copyright: Other |
Carrick calls for focused management
AIRTOURS has told Advantage to improve its discipline after unveiling a fresh commercial deal with the consortium.Addressing agents at the Advantage annual conference in Tunisia, Airtours Holidays managing director Richard Carrick said management needed to take a firmer grip on the business.
“Advantage has got to be a lot more than a social club and as a buying club it has done well,” said Carrick. “But it needs a stronger and better focused management.”
He also called for greater commitment from members and described the attendance at the conference as “patchy”.
Raising the profile of the brand is also important, he said. “I believe there is work to be done in terms of brand recognition,” said Carrick.
Earlier he predicted a wave of closures and agency refurbishments by the multiples in the wake of emerging distribution channels.
Hypermarket growth will also slow, he said, with some sites already being questioned for being too “faddish”.
But he insisted shops will survive – including independents. “Independents react quicker, are sometimes cheaper, are more flexible than the multiples and offer more customer empathy,” he said.