At the formal launch of the Vivanta brand, the new upper upscale brand of the Taj, in Bangalore, Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) MD & CEO Raymond Bickson said his vision is to make Taj available to every traveller. Bickson tells FE’s Shweta Bhanot about the brand restructuring plan. Excerpts:
How will the restructuring help Taj?
We have been working on the brand architecture for seven years and what you saw recently —the launch of Vivanta by Taj Hotels and Resorts—is the final piece of the puzzle. We have revisited our portfolio and brought some order in structure and segmentation of different products. It was an exercise to focus on what the guests want and market our brands accordingly. One part of the puzzle was the launch of Ginger in 2004 and then Gateway in 2008. Today, we separated the final piece with the launch of Vivanta. Now, our portfolio is segmented clearly into five star, four star, three star and two star.
When you say its part of the puzzle, what more is on the anvil? Can we expect one more brand to fill the gap between Gateway and Ginger?
I don?t think we have gone that far yet, as our hands are full, unless we come up with an opportunistic acquisition. We see a huge growth in the upper upscale and upscale segment with Vivanta and Gateway. We have been fortunate to be part of Tata Group as it gives us a certain leverage that many in the industry do not enjoy. We do not have a definite plan for it as of now.
During this restructuring process, will we see properties for sale?
We will have to look at it on a case by case basis. We do not see any of our existing properties not fitting in our brands that we need to sell it.
What will be the contribution of various brands to revenues?
We expect our luxury signature brand Taj to continue to contribute 65% to our revenues. We do not see this changing any soon.
You have overseas plans for Vivanta and Gateway brands. What about Ginger?
We have no plans to take Ginger overseas. There is so much in the pipeline at the moment that we need to finish that first and then look at anything else.
How far are we from witnessing consolidation in your overseas portfolio? You had talked about an umbrella company to bring all your overseas properties under it.
It is two years away before we see the implementation of the overseas company. We have been working towards it and looking at it seriously to get better control over our overseas portfolio.
Coming to your interest in US-based Orient Express Hotels (OEH), is the company waiting for the share price to improve?
Yes, we feel it is wise to move on OEH only when the market corrects and its stock price sees correction. We have interest in the company and will continue to keep our money parked there as we do not want to take a hit on our bottom line.
