Goodbye to Lunn Poly brand

THE Lunn Poly retail brand, a fixture of the UK‘s High Streets since the 1960s, is being ditched by German-owned tour operating giant TUI.

More than 780 Lunn Poly shops will be rebranded from the beginning of next month as part of the company‘s UK restructuring

The shops will be rebranded under the main UK tour-operating arm, Thomson, as the company seeks to create a 'powerbrand'.

TUI UK announced a shake-up of its business in September, including the loss of 800 jobs, as it bids to compete with online competitors and low-cost airlines.

TUI UK managing director Peter Rothwell said: 'Thomson is an extremely powerful brand in travel which has been known for high quality holidays since 1965.

'We need to maximise the brand. We want people to have a clear understanding that Thomson caters for all their travel needs whether it‘s a one-way flight to Malaga, two nights at a city centre hotel in Paris, a villa in Italy or a five star tailor-made trip to Australia.'

The company wants to offer more flexible 'dynamically packaged' products to consumers rather than the traditional seven, 10 and 14 night holidays. The rebranding will be complete by the end of September.

Rothwell added: 'People are bombarded with advertisements and offers from a range of travel brands these days. We want to use our High Street shops, our aircraft, websites and advertising to focus the customer even more on Thomson.'

The operator is the last of the UK‘s Big Four to attempt to reposition its vertical operations under a headline brand. First Choice and Thomas Cook completed rebranding earlier this year, while MyTravel's transformation from Airtours was put on hold following the company‘s financial troubles in 2002.