NEWS 1
Gary Lewis (left) and Bill Munro
YOU NEED TO KNOW
at a glance
l Barrhead Travel has 859 employees across its shops, call centres and those working from home.
l In September, Barrhead reported a 27.9% rise in turnover for its 2014 financial year, with sales up from £191 million in 2013 to £246 million last year.
l It has a presence in 58 locations, with new shops due to open at Edinburgh airport and, for the first time, in England.
Barrhead Travel joins The Travel Network Group
Lucy Huxley
lucy.huxley@
travelweekly.co.uk
Barrhead Travel has joined The Travel Network Group, making it the consortium’s biggest retail member and second-largest in terms of turnover.
The Scottish agency chain has
not been a member of a consortium for 18 months, having left Advantage in 2013 to form joint- venture buying group Venture with Midcounties Co-operative. Barrhead had retained a tie-up
with Advantage, of which it had been a member for more than 15 years, to use some of its services. Chairman Bill Munro said: “Other consortia have served us well in the past, but we have outgrown them. We have become so strong, we don’t really need
to be part of a group, but there are advantages to having strong partners and sharing best practices. “The way The Travel Network
Group is configured, with its infrastructure and technology, really appeals. We see a huge amount of strength coming from working with like-minded people who have a commercial outlook and who are focused on profit not showmanship.” Munro said the joint venture
with Midcounties had worked for about a year but it had been disbanded due to the businesses being too different. “They are a co-operative and
to some degree more interested in looking after employees than making money,” he said. “We’re different animals, so the whole thing became a mess.” Barrhead will be part of TTNG’s
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travelweekly.co.uk 8 October 2015
“We see strength coming from working with like-minded commercial people”
Worldchoice brand because of its significant retail network and membership of Abta. TTNG managing director Gary Lewis said the agency will access benefits and services from across the consortium including commercial deals, its technical payment structure and management team. Barrhead will also supply
differentiated product to TTNG members, just as Cruise118 supplies exclusive cruise holidays. Lewis said: “Barrhead is an incredibly entrepreneurial
l Barrhead will become the TTNG’s largest retail member and second-largest in terms of turnover.
l Barrhead plans to increase its own flying programme through BA, which TTNG members will be able to sell.
business and needed a partner that behaves in the same way. “Be under no illusions: travel
agents are massively challenged by the big guys and technology. “But they ‘own’ their customers and there’s more reason than ever to be part of an organisation that will defend their position.” Munro said joining TTNG
would “help protect Barrhead’s own future”. “We have become more of
an operator and are protecting ourselves against the bigger players, whether that’s Tui, Thomas Cook or Jet2holidays, who are doing as much as they can for their own bottom lines,” he said. Munro added the move to
TTNG would support Barrhead’s significant expansion plans, which include opening its first store in England by Christmas.
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