Kuoni’s plans to have up to eight high-street shops by the end of this year could help travel agents who sell its holidays, according to new distribution director Derek Jones.
The operator plans to open a further four or five shops this year, to add to its three stores in Kensington, Manchester and Bishopsgate. Shortlisted locations in Bluewater shopping centre in Kent; Milton Keynes; Bristol and Cheltenham are based on footfall and demographics.
Jones is adamant the operator’s new shops will promote the brand to the public rather than take business from existing travel agents.
He said: “We have consciously looked at where our supportive independent agents are to make sure as far as possible we are not on their doorstep. We are not opening shops to take business away from them. We want customers to experience the Kuoni brand first-hand.
“I would argue that, far from damaging agents, in almost all cases it could raise awareness of what Kuoni stands for, which can only help agents.”
Prior to joining Kuoni in March, Jones spent 20 years working for TUI Travel, and will be remembered by some for being involved in the policy to cut commission to agents to 7% in 2005.
“Of course there is an understandable level of concern about my arrival. But it’s been a real bonus how much fun I’ve had meeting agents and speaking to people I’ve not spoken to for 10 years,” said Jones, who was attracted to the job because of the operator’s high-street plans.
He joked: “Having beaten me up for two hours, the agents are then happy to shake my hand.”
Jones, whose new role covers third-party, direct and in-house sales, insisted the company wanted to increase its sales through independent agents. “If anything, we need to work more closely with the trade; we’d like to see significant growth through independent travel agents,” he added.
But he admitted: “We probably anticipate direct business as a proportion of our business will increase over time, but there is ample opportunity to grow direct and trade business, particularly around professional, independent agents.”
Plans include developing the support offered to the top tier of Kuoni specialist agents. He said: “I would like to focus a little more on the top 100 or 150 of these 450 specialist agents and make it aspirational. We need to make sure they are well rewarded.”
Already, the operator has added to its on-the-road agency sales team and joined the Truly Independent Professional Travel Organisation. It continues to offer around 700 educational places a year, and runs the Kuoni Worldwide Diploma. “I would argue our overall position with the trade has improved over the last 18 months. If we have failed in any way, it’s in terms of how we communicate these benefits to agents,” he said.
Jones is also keen to work more closely with The Co-operative Travel and Thomas Cook. He said: “The Co-ops are very supportive, and I think we can do a lot more with Thomas Cook; they understand the importance of selling a good range and the relevance of long-haul product.”
He admitted the move by Kuoni to open its own shops was partly a response to business lost through multiples as they sell more in-house product, but hinted this was most prevalent at Thomson.
He said: “There is a move towards more direct in-house support, particularly at TUI Travel, and we need to replace that distribution. We have seen a significant decline in our Thomson volumes. When our product goes in front of the customer, we want it proactively sold.”