Webjet plots new way for Zuji

Webjet plots new way for Zuji
By admin


Webjet will relaunch Zuji by the end of the year as it seeks to create a niche brand in the Australian market and return the business to sustained profitability.

Zuji suffered a trading loss of $1.6 million and cost Webjet $5.4m in acquisition and transition costs in the year to June 30, but moved into the black in July.

Webjet managing director John Guscic said he expects that trend to continue.

But while Zuji’s Hong Kong and Singapore operations have performed well , and the joint venture with Virgin Australia Holidays has been successful, the overall  Australian business needs work, he told Travel Today.

“Zuji in aggregate has been a growing business,” Guscic said “Three out of four operations – Hong Kong, Singapore and the JV – have been performing but it has been flat in Australia.”

While Zuji previously “had no pathway to profitability”, it now does under Webjet, he added, revealing the brand will undergo a major product repositioning in Australia before the end of the year.

Guscic declined to reveal specifics but said Zuji would transition from a “catch all” product range to a brand with a more targeted consumer strategy.

“Zuji needs to find its niche,” he said.

He stressed there was no need to overhaul the business in Hong Kong and Singapore where it is the number one online travel agency for air bookings.

But Guscic again rejected any notion that the Zuji name will be replaced in Australia, arguing the brand has too much equity to simple discard it.

Meanwhile, Webjet’s Lots of Hotels business is likely to launch into four new markets before the end of 2013, most likely in Africa.

Guscic said among the key drivers in Webjet’s improvement in the hotel sector – historically a weak area for the retailer – is its ability to directly negotiate deals.

The Lots of Hotels business, which is generating annualised total transactional value of $40m, is expected to be profitable in the current quarter.

Guscic said the rising strength of the division will help Webjet develop its dynamic packaging business and increase its share of the “$1 billion package holiday market”.

“Our objective is now to shift people from booking packages offline to online,” he said.

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