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Cosmos axes direct sell beach operation
Cosmos is scrappng its Archers Direct beach product in a move that will save the operator £1 million in marketing costs.
Managing director Terry Williamson said it could no longer justify such extravagant expenditure for a direct sell operation which carried fewer than 15,000 passengers each year.
He stressed however that Archers Direct Worldwide will continue.
“We want to drive more business through the Cosmos brand and will divert the marketing funds to Cosmos,” Williamson told TravelMole. He said the £1 million had been spent on direct mail campaigns, marketing and brochure production.
Although an Archers Direct first edition brochure has been produced for summer 2006, no second edition will be distributed, he said.
The decision to axe Archers beach product will be welcomed by independent agents who have long argued that Cosmos, which describes itself as a trade-friendly brand, was cutting out the trade.
Williamson insisted thought that the Cosmos group needs to distribute through all booking channels – including direct.
“There’s a lot of talk about squeezing agents out but why would I want to do that?” he said. “It costs us £180 in direct marketing costs to acquire one customer in the hope we will retain them.”
Agents, he said, represented the most efficient form of distribution.
Report by Steve Jones
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