More supermarkets, fewer specialist stores – discount prices instead of subsidiaries: the restructuring of Migros is in full swing. Boss Mario Irminger confirmed this at the end of October compared to 20 minutes as part of an interim review. This was a few days after a large part of the Melectronics branches had been converted into media stores. Irminger’s announcement: Next on the sales list is the sale of Hotelplan.
Now the notification of completion is likely to be imminent. This is what the “SonntagsZeitung” writes, citing industry insiders. The information corresponds to unconfirmed insider statements that were available for 20 minutes: Hotelplan is to be taken over by the German travel giant Dertour. The group belongs to the retail group Rewe and is already present in Switzerland with Kuoni and Helvetic Tours.
Dertour and a Swiss family office were interested in a takeover, and now the number 2 in the German travel market (behind Tui) is said to have struck. According to the “SonntagsZeitung”, communication will take place before Christmas. The company already employs around 950 people in Switzerland – and operates around 70 travel agencies.
Now there are 850 Hotelplan employees and 82 branches in this country – plus a subsidiary in Great Britain, a small business travel provider, individual travel agency Travelhouse and holiday apartment broker Interhome. The near future will show what will be left of it in the end. It can be assumed that many jobs and branches will be cut due to duplication. The fact is: Where Hotelplan has a location, Kuoni is often nearby.
Ultimately, for Migros it’s about “focusing on the core business,” as the Limmatplatz says almost like a mantra. However, liquid funds are also needed to strengthen the branch network and the price offensive. A total of around two and a half billion francs. These should be at least partially raised through sales from specialist stores.
The “SonntagsZeitung” assumes that the sale of Hotelplan will only be able to contribute around 140 to 200 million francs. The fact is: the travel provider still owes the parent company a corona injection worth around 100 million francs, which should further reduce the purchase price. Industry experts assume that holiday apartment provider Interhome will make up the most attractive part at 40 to 60 million francs.
As the German trade magazine “FVW Traveltalk” reported in October, Dertour has founded a consortium with holiday apartment specialist Hometogo to take over Interhome. Hometogo would take over Interhome if purchased.
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