THOMSON will decide within six months whether to become
a traditional retailer selling travel and leisure products ranging
from clothes to suncream after admitting package-holiday sales are
under pressure.
The multiple has announced a tie-up with overseas property
company Parador Properties, allowing Thomson agents to earn
£290 per successful villa sale and several thousand pounds per
agency by passing on client details.
TUI UK commercial retail director Derek Jones is now identifying
potential products to sell in agencies and the viability of
electronic tills and stock controls.
He said selling new products could mean the difference between
whether shops in its 750-strong estate stay open or not, and could
even slow down the rate of agency closures, outlined by the group
last year.
“If we do not respond, we’ll continue to see a
decline in package-holiday sales,” he admitted.
He denied shops would stop selling holidays but said rising
rents meant other products had to be considered.
Thomson sales and marketing director Miles Morgan denied claims
the move would cannibalise core package sales, despite admitting it
could take 40,000 people out of the holiday-buying market in its
first year. He projected holiday home sales of 1,000 in the first
12 months.
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