TUI reshapes its business model on domestic market / Organisational division between beach holidays and special holidays / New production system planned / Introduction of category management covering all brands
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Hanover, December 14, 2005
TUI is to reshape its business model in the domestic market by carrying out an extensive structural and organisational reform. The goal is to become the market leader in all relevant holiday types above and beyond the pure beach holiday segment. “We are clearly the market leader in beach holidays. Now we want to speed things up to generate extra growth in the special segments such as long-haul holidays and city breaks, in the modular business and in holidays for which customers make their own travel arrangements ,“ says TUI Deutschland managing director Dr Volker Böttcher. He continues: “After achieving a successful year in 2005 we are preparing TUI in Germany from a position of strength for the challenges of the future.“ Böttcher announced amongst other things a new production logic that will enable holidays to be produced in future more flexibly and efficiently.
The strategic restructuring of the business in Germany is a four-fold setup: the introduction of a new production model for beach package holidays, an integrated sales and brand strategy, the consolidation and expansion of the mass beach holiday business as well as a growth strategy in the special holidays sector. To implement this strategy TUI will form two strategic business units as of 1 January 2006. The two large volume brands of TUI and 1-2-FLY will be brought together under the beach holidays business unit, which will be headed by Sören Hartmann, previously the tourism managing director of the TUI core brand. Ralf Horter, previously in charge of the 1-2-FLY brand, will join the TUI Deutschland board. From January he will head the special holidays business unit comprising the sectors of long-haul holidays and city breaks, holidays without travel and self-catering (holiday homes and apartments).
To put this strategy into practice TUI will moreover modify the organisation structure in the special holidays business unit and consequently introduce a category management covering all brands. A category manager will for instance in future produce the holidays for all brands in Germany, put them on the market, and also manage the economic success. “Up to now there had been responsibility for city breaks for instance at both TUI and airtours. And the product managers, although reponsible for the product and price, were not responsilbe for putting products on the market. We are now combining these aspects under a new responsibility covering all brands,“ is how Böttcher explains the new principle. The category manager will be responsible for the success of the product from the customer side of things and will also deal with contract partners. By concentrating the brands at one point TUI will further improve its negotiating position on the purchasing front.
In the special holidays business unit there will be four category managers: Astrid Clasen-Czaja (holidays without travel), Michael Tenzer (long-haul), Frank Stoll (city breaks) and Heinz Kolata (self-catering). The category managers will report to Ralf Horter, who at the same time will be on the TUI board in charge of the brands airtours, Wolters, Gebeco/Dr. Tigges as well as the companies TUI interactive and
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The division of responsibilities remain unchanged in the beach holidays business unit: Kirsten Feld-Türkis (Western Mediterranean), Andreas Casdorff (Eastern Mediterranean), Dr Ingo Markgraf (Product Development) und Jörg Wagner (Hotel Contracting). They report to TUI managing director Sören Hartmann, who at the same time is responsible for the brands 1-2-FLY, Discount Travel and Oft-Reisen.
For further information please contact:
Björn Beroleit, phone +49 511 566-1310
Nicola Gehrt, phone +49 511 566-1435