The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Tui looks to close almost one-third of its branches
Pandemic has accelerated changing customer purchasing habits
Holiday giant Tui is set to close nearly one-third of its high street stores across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
The firm has a number of branches across Tayside and Fife, including Arbroath, Dundee, Broughty Ferry, Perth, Leven, Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy.
The company declined to name which stores will be affected by the move until a consultation process had been completed.
Under the radical proposal, 166 shops will close, as the firm battles to cut costs in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and changes in customer purchasing behaviour.
It plans to move 70% of the 900 affected jobs to a new “home-working sales and service team”.
Tui also aims to relocate staff to vacancies in the remaining 350 retail stores.
The firm announced in May that it planned to cut around 8,000 jobs globally.
Andrew Flintham, managing director of Tui UK and Ireland, said: “We want to be in the best position to provide excellent customer service, whether it’s in a high street store, over the telephone or online, and will continue to put the customer at the heart of what we do.
“It is therefore imperative that we make these difficult cost decisions, look after our colleagues during such unprecedented uncertainty, and also offer a modern customer service.
“Customer behaviours have already changed in recent years, with 70% of all Tui UK bookings taking place online.
“We believe Covid-19 has only accelerated this change in purchasing habits, with people looking to buy online or wishing to speak with travel experts from the comfort of their own home.
“We have world-class travel advisers at Tui, so we hope many of them will become home-workers and continue to offer the personalised service we know our customers value.”
The announcement comes as the Scottish Retail Consortium released figures showing 12.9% of retail premises in Scotland remain vacant, with analysts suggesting the figure is set rise.
Alison Henderson, chief executive of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, said the announcement was “one of a series of shocks high streets are going to experience”.
She said: “National businesses are making very difficult decisions which are impacting on local employment.
“We need to look at what the gaps in the high street are and encourage businesses to think differently about how these spaces are used, including pop-up shops or promoting firms which do not have a physical space.”