Corendon will focus more on retail, with a larger range tailored to sales through travel agencies and ZRAs. Sales Manager (and brand new Sales Person of the Year) Rutgher Verstrepen and Dick Gussen, Director Brand, Media & Partnerships, who is responsible for retail again, reveal the first plans. The appointment of Rutgher Verstrepen as sales manager in May last year was already an important signal that Corendon was going to focus more on retail, says Gussen, who has been responsible for retail policy at Corendon since the beginning of this year as Director Brand, Media & Partnerships. “My new position is more a result of our new internal structure,” he explains. ́Debora de Roos, who previously held the position of Director of Marketing, is now Director Customer Services. ́ An important reason for embracing retail, according to Gussen, is the ever-expanding range of products. ‘Over the past four or five years, our range has expanded enormously. We used to be a Turkey specialist only, a destination in which we have invested for many years. We are now a major player in many destinations, such as Curaçao, Greece and Spain. And, much more importantly, we have more and more travel agency products in our portfolio. Our buyers are increasingly shouting: ‘We’ve bought beautiful travel agency hotels again.’ What kind of hotels are they? Verstrepen: ‘As examples, I always mention chains such as Mitsis, Grecotel, Lopesan and Iberostar. They are well-known hotels for which the consumer goes to the travel agency. We mainly want to offer these types of hotels and thus meet the demand. What’s next? Our plan is to first expand the cooperation with existing retail partners. After that, we also want to expand the number of partnerships.” Gussen: ‘The number of travel agencies in the Netherlands is now stable, while the number of ZRAs is increasing. There are now approximately 1,200 ZRAs and they are also an important partner. Whether it’s a brick-and-mortar travel agency or someone behind their laptop, it’s a point of sale. We have the ambition to grow and then you look at the available channels. The starting point is: in which place, where we are not ourselves, can we put Corendon as a product? And then you come to the ZRA or the brick-and-mortar travel agency.’ Gussen gives an appealing example: ‘I myself come from Goirle and that is where the world-famous travel agency of Disma (now TUI) is located. So I can fill all the bus shelters in Goirle with Corendon advertising and advertise in the local newspaper, but I know: my parents’ neighbors and people I know from the past, they all go to travel agency Disma. That’s the local hero there and everyone wants to be helped by the same person who has been behind the counter there for years and who also knows the customers.’ Gussen continues: “As a tour operator, you can approach the customer directly, but there are simply many customers who would like to be helped by an advisor from a travel agency or a well-known ZRA. And then you can use double the marketing budget to approach that customer, who chooses the agent anyway.’ Verstrepen: ‘And don’t forget that retail is also very active online. Just look at the OTAs, the online travel agents. So we are happy to enter into that collaboration as well. And if you have the right offer, then you meet a need.
Does the focus on retail also have to do with the higher prices charged by Google? Gussen: ‘Google is getting more and more expensive, but our move really has to do with the desired diversity in the sales channels. It is in line with our policy that we want to be where Corendon is not yet. Moreover, we have been working with the retail sector for many years. Partnership is central to us.’ Do you now have a deal with all the chains? Verstrepen: ‘Not yet, but that needs to grow. You won’t be on everyone’s shelves within a week. We are currently in talks with the final parties.’ What distinctive offer can retailers expect from Corendon? Gussen: ‘A success story is the Formula 1 trips of our subsidiary Stip Reizen, which are sold in retail under the Corendon brand. This gives us a unique proposition. A lot of agents don’t know we sell that. This also applies to cruises, also from Stip Reizen. You don’t immediately think of Corendon when you think of a cruise, but through Stip we have competitive prices because we purchase guaranteed cabins. When a travel agency has a cruise customer who is perhaps a bit more sensitive to price, nine times out of ten we have the best offer for that. We also have the so-called Grand Voyages.’ Verstrepen: ‘And let’s not forget our new brand By June, which gives retailers access to a unique range of boutique holidays with small-scale hotels and apartments in unique locations and always with a rental car. This offer can be booked immediately, not on request. That is very important for a travel agency. The agent can book directly online with us, without having to keep having to give feedback to the customer whether something is available or not. ́ Read the complete interview with Verstrepen and Gussen in the recently published TravMagazine #7. ́This is what Corendon pays the travel agent in commission ́ Photo: Rutgher Verstrepen and Dick Gussen (Photo TravMagazine).
