| 28 Jun 2009 |
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Dollar Thrifty plans expansion in region
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Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (DTG), the US-based parent company of the Thrifty and Dollar Rent A Car brands, is expanding operations in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).
The car rental major plans to enter the Saudi market shortly. DTG will launch a pre-paid product for travellers enabling them to use it globally.
The expansion plan follows its latest restructuring exercise that saw 35 per cent of job cuts at senior management level and 15 per cent at mid level, taking the total count to 7,500.
"We are bullish on the region. At present, the Mena region contributes more than seven per cent to our total revenues. We hope to enter the Saudi market soon and for this we are actively considering franchisee model, while the UAE market continues to be strong and bullish," Tom Kelley, Executive Director for global franchise operations at DTG, told Emirates Business.
The company is exploring business potential in emerging markets. "When business is shrinking, profitability is more important. To sustain profitability, we are exploring emerging markets and Dubai is growing much faster than its peers. We find franchising model sustainable and attractive for activities during the present market conditions. We are developing a new pre-paid product, which will enable travellers to use our services at regional rates across several countries," said Kelley.
Dollar's main focus is the airport vehicle rental market, catering to the business and leisure travellers. Dollar has 111 company-owned and franchised in-terminal airport locations in the US. The majority of locations are on or near airports.
Feeling the heat of global economic crisis, the company has implemented major restructuring, particularly at its US headquarters.
"The travel industry became a victim of the ongoing global recession, as the automobile manufacturers collapsed. In October, our organisation has taken up a major restructuring and as part of this, some painful steps were taken to mitigate our issues. We have taken two key initiatives cost-cutting and cash-management measures. Cash is the king and to ensure adequate level of liquidity, we focused on capitalising on our inherited strength and experience," said Kelley.
By Sreenivasa Rao Dasari
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