Lunn Poly name axed in favour of Thomson powerbrand

LONDON - TUI UK is to axe the Lunn Poly brand after 40 years to create a single Thomson 'powerbrand'.

The 780 Lunn Poly travel agents are to be rebranded as Thomson, with an overhaul of the stores set to be completed by Boxing Day.

According to Thomson parent company TUI, the move will be followed by a major marketing campaign in January to coincide with the firm's key holiday booking period.

This is expected to focus on its travel agents' "ability to book more dynamically packaged holiday for customers", due to technology upgrades to give around three quarters of stores internet access.

TUI also recently renamed its holiday airline Britannia as Thomsonfly.

Peter Rothwell, TUI UK managing director, 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.

"It makes much more sense from a marketing point of view to put money behind promoting a single brand."

The renaming of Lunn Poly will also see TUI UK's Lunn Poly TV shopping channel rebranded as Thomson TV by the end of the year.

TUI UK sales and marketing director Miles Morgan added: "There is no doubt that more people are using the internet to book and it's our aim to sell more holidays through our website and television channels."

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