THOMAS Cook is planning to see how its first two warehouse retail projects in Manchester and Oldbury perform before expanding the concept further afield.
The company says if it comes across appropriate sites that plug distribution holes it will consider building more of the Thomas Cook Plus warehouses but the projects head of sales Alex Cross said: “Nothing is set in stone.”
Group chief executive John Donaldson has already admitted he is not convinced by the hypermarket concept as a retail proposition (Travel WeeklyJuly 5).
The First Thomas Cook Plus which opened on Friday in Manchester’s Central Retail Park is 9,000sq ft and has 26 service positions. The West Midlands site in Oldbury, opening on July 22, will offer 20 service positions, measuring over 7,500sq ft.
The emphasis of the warehouses is on enhanced customer service following research carried out by the company on similar competitors’ products.
Thomas Cook commercial director Mike Beaumont admitted it was inevitable that some business would be taken from its high-street shops by the warehouses, as happened with Thomas Cook Direct.
“There’s a degree of cannibalisation from the shops but we are looking at increasing the main size of the cake,” he said.
He said the retailer was focused on filling the geographical distribution gaps.
He refused to be drawn on how much turnover Thomas Cook Plus could generate compared to its high-street shops, saying only “we would not be so presumptuous as to say they’re the equivalent to 15 shops like our competitors do.”