THOMSON Travel Group is sending out hundreds of letters to independent travel agents inviting them to sell their business to the market leader or enter into a partnership.
Thomson wants to further secure distribution on the high street by building up to seven regional brands throughout the UK.
Thomson and UKdistribution managing director Richard Bowden-Doyle said he did not expect all the retailers that it contacted to do business and estimated it would add up to 50 shops to its portfolio by the end of the year.
He declined to say how many extra shops in total it wanted but said there was no limit to the company achieving its goal of securing distribution. “We’ll spend as much as it takes,” he said.
“The business has moved into the next phase and distribution is the key issue.”
Thomson retail development MD Nigel Cleevely stressed that the brands would be run separately from Lunn Poly and claimed that independents joining the group would be able to retain their independence.
“Lunn Poly is the market leader, but there is a saturation point on the high street,” said Cleevely. “We want separate brands offering the consumer something different. This is about plugging gaps where we do not have a strong presence.”
Thomson already owns 34-shop Callers Pegasus, based in Newcastle, and plans to expand the brand by up to 12 shops by opening in areas like Gosforth and Cramlington.
Cleevely said there was also potential to build the 11-shop Sibbald Travel in Ediburgh throughout Scotland, to the same size as Callers Pegasus.
Elsewhere, Thomson plans to either acquire or work with brands in different UK regions, but Bowden-Doyle said some of these brands might only have a handful of outlets.
Cleevely said that if the plan to woo independents was not successful, it would build extra shops.
Bowden-Doyle denied that the policy had been forced on the company because the Preferred Agent Scheme, which has only attracted around 1,000 agents outside the group, had not worked. He added that those entering an alliance would not be offered better deals.
“The Preferred Agent Scheme has worked well and we have around 2,000 outlets in total, but everything has moved on,” he said.
“This policy will operate alongside the Preferred Agent Scheme and it would be untenable to offer new partners greater incentives.”
Thomson is planning to have a call centre operational by autumn and Bowden-Doyle said it was watching hypermarkets with interest but as yet had no plans to build any.
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