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Big Four could still be ‘biggest winners’
The big four will survive despite the rise of online brands. This was the message emerging from the final debate of the TTI Spring Conference on the subject of dynamic packaging. Lowcostbeds chief executive Paul Evans said: “My honest view is that we all have our own areas and with the market continuing to grow and people taking more short breaks there is enough business for everyone.” In the audience was Jeanne Lally from TUI UK. She told the panel: “I applaud what all three of you new kids on the block are doing but at the end of the day the consumer will decide what proposition and brand is most relevant to their mindset and their lifestyle.” “You look at the size of the market and you’d be foolish to write anyone off. What the low cost carriers have done is bring more people into the marketplace.” Holiday Brokers chief executive, Steve Endacott agreed and said the Big Four would be the biggest winners if they could leverage their brand strength while adapting to new consumer buying habits. Both Mr Evans and Mr Endacott said their companies were not chasing high volumes. Holidayandmore.com general manager Vic Darvey said brands like Lastminute were at an advantage because of their “standing start”. “We started with a blank piece of paper. The issue for the Big Four is that it takes them a long time to turn around.” He used the popular analogy of turning around a tanker to say it would take time for company’s like TUI to adapt to developments in technology and the growing use of the internet. Report by Ginny McGrath
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