Q: Chris, welcome to your new role. What made you switch from luxury retail to the travel industry?
A: Over the last five or 10 years with Breitling I’ve seen the demand for luxury shift away from ownership of products and ‘things’. People are still buying cars and watches but more and more they are choosing experiences with their loved ones and travel is at the epicentre of that.
So I did some research into travel and got bitten by the bug. If travel is booming and people are shifting away from products to experiences and travel is the experience and your product is what they’re buying, it’s a no-brainer.
Then you look at the challenges that the travel industry has faced – geographic issues, political issues, economic issues, natural disasters, low water issues – you’ve got everything against you and still you’re resilient as an industry and growing. Again, it’s a no-brainer.
Q: You’ve only been in the role for a couple of months. How have you found the change?
A: It’s very different. I’m probably still too formal, because I’ve come from an environment where everything is polished.
I just need to relax, because everyone in travel is so friendly and helpful. It’s a really warm, genuine, down-to-earth industry.
My team are great. They know the market, our relationships with the trade are fantastic and we’ve got really strong trade partner and we will continue with trade as a focus.
I came from retail and everyone said “are Globus opening their own network of stores?”. No, trade is central to our business and it will remain that way.
Q: So what you’re saying is that Globus is still very much in the travel agent corner?
A: 100 per cent. I think AI has a part to play in helping travel agents and bringing in efficiencies, bringing together itineraries and things that would normally take time.
But at the end of the day if you’re dealing with someone who’s coming to you for advice and recommendations, you need a travel agent and that human touch. AI doesn’t give you that.
What agents do is get under the hood of what people’s travel desires are, instead of just leading to the product. They can find out what really makes a client tick and that’s what people are prepared to pay for.
Q: Tell me how you think Globus family of brands is looking right now?
A: There are plenty of challenges – low water and floods – but I think Globus is extremely well positioned with our three brands.
We’ve got Avalon Waterways in Europe, we’ve got value driven touring in North America, Europe and other markets with Cosmos, and we’ve also got premium touring across those same markets with Globus.
So when you’ve got a portfolio like that, which is strong and operationally sound, it gives us the opportunity to pivot.
For example, take the low water issues in Europe. There were competitors who don’t have the touring aspects and their ships were stuck high and dry. Whereas we were able to get people on a coach, save their experience and they came away having a wonderful time.
We’re still family-owned, which I think is really worth talking about, because it means things are done with care and in a way that big corporations don’t often do. We can be nimble, we can make quick decisions and I’m very proud to be part of this.
Q: Is there anything in the portfolio that you’re particularly excited about?
A: The three new combination tours that we’ve just launched, because if you’re investing in a European trip for 14 days or three weeks, you want to maximise your time on the ground. You’re not going to fly all that way and do seven nights and then go home.
So that’s why we’ve put forward longer cruises – our 14-day ‘Magnificent Europe’ is one of our best sellers. Or you do a cruise and then we put you on a Globus tour. You can do the ‘Romantic Rhine’ and then go around Italy with Globus.
This is a response to the market and to what we’re hearing from our consumers, where they’re invested and they want to go, and I think that’s really positive for us.
Q: Final question. Did you make the right choice to leave Breitling?
A: My time had really come to end with Breitling – 15 years is a long time and I had built the brand to where it is now. It’s a powerhouse, one of the top four commercial watch brands in Australia and globally, although obviously that wasn’t all down to me.
Travel made sense because, while there are many parallels to luxury retail, it’s different enough to be a whole new chapter.
