Big horizons
The company is planning to spend the zł.6 million it hopes to raise on the development of its traditional customer service network located in shopping centers around the country. So far only two such points of sale have been opened - in Warsaw and Katowice - but the owners are aiming at 20-25 within the next two years.
Deputy CEO of Travelplanet.pl Tomasz Moroz discusses the move to open points of sale - and why it is not a step back in time.
Katarzyna Dębek: Are you satisfied with the results of the subscription level for shares?
Tomasz Moroz: We are more than satisfied. The interest from both institutional and individual investors went far beyond our expectations, after all we are the first e-business to be listed on the WSE. Also the price of shares was set at the maximum level of zł.18.
Is all the money from shares going to be invested in points of sale like the one in Warsaw's Carrefour Reduta?
We want to spend zł.2 million for the creation of 20-25 such stands within the next two years. But we would also like to develop our infrastructure, invest in state-of-the-art IT systems and sink half a million in marketing. We are also considering taking over some small, niche e-companies from our sector in order to widen our offer and later maybe also invest abroad - the CEE market looks most encouraging as the majority of countries are some two years behind Poland when it comes to e-commerce. We are thinking the Czech Republic, and maybe Russia, but this is still just a project, we can't name concrete firms.
Why did you decide to open traditional points of sale? Isn't it a step back from the modern, e-business to the old-fashioned face-to-face contact with the customer?
This is exactly the answer to our customers' needs. We are the number one internet travel agent in Poland but the whole of the e-market in the tourism sector accounts for just two percent of the overall travel agencies' income. If we add traditional points of sale to our offer we might be able to reach a double-digit share of the market. It will help us increase our customers' trust and further popularize the Travelplanet.pl brand. Besides, launching traditional shops or offices is a general tendency on the e-market - m-Bank did exactly the same thing and Merlin.pl is thinking of opening its own bookstores.
So where is the difference, why should people buy from Travelplanet.pl instead of opting for a traditional agent?
Our main advantage is that we don't just offer pre-arranged package holidays. We also sell plane tickets, including those of low-fare airlines and book hotels. We offer a tailor-made final product. Our customer can choose any day for the departure and any means of transport. And what's most important, we can do it at a competitive cost and accept all payment methods - cash, bank transfer, credit card, you can also pay in installments. Basically, we are like a supermarket, a one-stop shop. You don't have to spend hours in a traffic jam. Everything is smooth and easy.
What is your client's profile? Who buys at Travelplanet.pl?
Our average client is 25-50 years old and lives in a big city rather than a village, although small town buyers are the fastest growing group of customers. He or she has secondary school or higher education and earns above the national average. What is interesting, the majority of bookings at Travelplanet are performed during working hours, with a distinct lunch break decrease.
Octopustravel.com will soon officially announce its entering the Polish market. Will you be able to compete with an international company from your sector?
We are not too worried about an international e-business trying to operate in Poland only via internet. Just look at the eBay example. It's not doing well and the customers complain. Foreign companies don't really know the market. We would only be worried if an international giant took over one of our Polish competitors.
Do you think your competitors are going to aim for the WSE encouraged by your example?
We are possibly paving the way for them. What we are doing now is a completely new thing in Poland, just like when we were setting up our business. We were just three guys with a good idea and not much money - five years later we are the first e-commerce soon to be listed at WSE. When Google was entering the stock exchange everybody said their $100 (zł.334) price for share was too much, now Google shares cost $300 (zł.1,003) and the company keeps developing. Poles tend to underestimate themselves - they see the future in a negative light. Unnecessarily so. Our 'American dream' has come true. The same happened in the case of the Triada founders - they run a successful company and started off as a bunch of friends.
And how do Travelplanet owners like to spend their holidays?
Instead of paying for package holidays we prefer to organize our free time ourselves. Piotr Multan, the company CEO is a keen skier and prefers to stay in European countries - especially France and Switzerland. As for me, I like when there's a lot going on. This year I would like to visit Cuba.
Interviewed by Katarzyna Dębek
Deputy CEO of Travelplanet.pl Tomasz Moroz discusses the move to open points of sale - and why it is not a step back in time.
Katarzyna Dębek: Are you satisfied with the results of the subscription level for shares?
Tomasz Moroz: We are more than satisfied. The interest from both institutional and individual investors went far beyond our expectations, after all we are the first e-business to be listed on the WSE. Also the price of shares was set at the maximum level of zł.18.
Is all the money from shares going to be invested in points of sale like the one in Warsaw's Carrefour Reduta?
We want to spend zł.2 million for the creation of 20-25 such stands within the next two years. But we would also like to develop our infrastructure, invest in state-of-the-art IT systems and sink half a million in marketing. We are also considering taking over some small, niche e-companies from our sector in order to widen our offer and later maybe also invest abroad - the CEE market looks most encouraging as the majority of countries are some two years behind Poland when it comes to e-commerce. We are thinking the Czech Republic, and maybe Russia, but this is still just a project, we can't name concrete firms.
Why did you decide to open traditional points of sale? Isn't it a step back from the modern, e-business to the old-fashioned face-to-face contact with the customer?
This is exactly the answer to our customers' needs. We are the number one internet travel agent in Poland but the whole of the e-market in the tourism sector accounts for just two percent of the overall travel agencies' income. If we add traditional points of sale to our offer we might be able to reach a double-digit share of the market. It will help us increase our customers' trust and further popularize the Travelplanet.pl brand. Besides, launching traditional shops or offices is a general tendency on the e-market - m-Bank did exactly the same thing and Merlin.pl is thinking of opening its own bookstores.
So where is the difference, why should people buy from Travelplanet.pl instead of opting for a traditional agent?
Our main advantage is that we don't just offer pre-arranged package holidays. We also sell plane tickets, including those of low-fare airlines and book hotels. We offer a tailor-made final product. Our customer can choose any day for the departure and any means of transport. And what's most important, we can do it at a competitive cost and accept all payment methods - cash, bank transfer, credit card, you can also pay in installments. Basically, we are like a supermarket, a one-stop shop. You don't have to spend hours in a traffic jam. Everything is smooth and easy.
What is your client's profile? Who buys at Travelplanet.pl?
Our average client is 25-50 years old and lives in a big city rather than a village, although small town buyers are the fastest growing group of customers. He or she has secondary school or higher education and earns above the national average. What is interesting, the majority of bookings at Travelplanet are performed during working hours, with a distinct lunch break decrease.
Octopustravel.com will soon officially announce its entering the Polish market. Will you be able to compete with an international company from your sector?
We are not too worried about an international e-business trying to operate in Poland only via internet. Just look at the eBay example. It's not doing well and the customers complain. Foreign companies don't really know the market. We would only be worried if an international giant took over one of our Polish competitors.
Do you think your competitors are going to aim for the WSE encouraged by your example?
We are possibly paving the way for them. What we are doing now is a completely new thing in Poland, just like when we were setting up our business. We were just three guys with a good idea and not much money - five years later we are the first e-commerce soon to be listed at WSE. When Google was entering the stock exchange everybody said their $100 (zł.334) price for share was too much, now Google shares cost $300 (zł.1,003) and the company keeps developing. Poles tend to underestimate themselves - they see the future in a negative light. Unnecessarily so. Our 'American dream' has come true. The same happened in the case of the Triada founders - they run a successful company and started off as a bunch of friends.
And how do Travelplanet owners like to spend their holidays?
Instead of paying for package holidays we prefer to organize our free time ourselves. Piotr Multan, the company CEO is a keen skier and prefers to stay in European countries - especially France and Switzerland. As for me, I like when there's a lot going on. This year I would like to visit Cuba.
Interviewed by Katarzyna Dębek
