Irene Uti-Egbeogu is chief executive officer, Travel Investments Company (TICO) Limited, a company that specialises in improving revenue and reducing loss in the travel industry. In this interview with SADE WILLIAMS, she speaks about a recent merger of four agencies and its prospects. Excerpts:
Agency consolidation versus companies’ ego
Ego” is personal and has no place in the duty of making business decisions. TICO’s principals are indeed very successful in their own rights but in the face of a common industry challenge, they’ve drawn from their experience to come together with a collective vision which can only benefit them as a consortium and as individual companies as well.
Is it a new business model for revenue generation?
The decision by the concerned travel agencies to consolidate was more of a natural decision given the competitive nature of the industry so in that regard, no, this is not a new business model. However, given the circumstance of the industry changes and looking at the prospects consolidation presents, it is a welcome development to explore other means of revenue generation.
Why is Nigeria just encountering this deal?
Consolidation is widely adopted in Europe, South Africa and USA. We can say it started in mid-90s in the USA in the face of stiff competition in the American travel industry.
Europe caught on not too long after but my memory serves that Asia picked up on it within months and now the rest of the world is seeing it as a viable strategy for cost reduction and profit-making. Nigeria is not exempted from the pressures characterised in global business operations and has no option but to tow the line eventually.
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How sustainable is this pact among Quantum Travels Limited, Touchdown Travels, Finchglow Travels Limited and Dees Travels?
Quantum, Touchdown, Finchglow and Dees are major players in the Nigerian travel industry and have been in operation for decades. Their decision to form this consortium was not made from the comfort of their financial success but from the depth of their experience in the market.
Together, they pool a wealth of experience, skill and competence that gives TICO the competitive advantage and its drive to work towards building a brand that will become a foremost leader in the global travel industry.
What is the clear-cut direction for this innovation?
The identity of TICO does not rob its partners of theirs but rather rubs off on their individual brands by affiliation. By this I mean that they will be running their individual operations concurrently with TICO and will even be improved or lend even more credibility in the fashion of a Star Alliance. Our goal in this regard would then be to position our brand such that partners win consumer confidence just by the mention of their affiliation with our icon.
TICO as clearing house for the agencies
TICO serves as a holding company incorporated by the four principal shareholders who make up its principal companies and will hence be responsible for this.
TICO is the brain behind this new initiative, why do you think this consolidation is desirable at this point in time?
Not to put this tritely, but the saying goes, “Either go big or go home.” The alternative to this move is to literally go home. The travel industry in evolving, and consolidation is an extract from that evolution. Consolidation is sweeping the global travel industry and bringing about tighter affiliations and stronger brands.
In Nigeria, I believe that it will bring about efficiency in terms of the operations aspect businesses can achieve. TICO has looked into the future and seen that there is strength in number not just by statistic but by strength in competence and negotiation standpoint.
