Thomas Cook Project

SUMMER PROJECT REPORT
ON
STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EFFECTIVE DISTRIBUTION MODEL FOR
FOREIGN EXCHANGE BUSINESS AT THOMAS COOK BRANCHES
For
Under the Guidance of
Mr.Vinoth Kumar,
Chennai Area Manager,
Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange Services
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Degree of
Master of Business Administration
By
Student’s Name :NIVAS R
Roll No: 29034
BHARATHIDASAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
(School of Excellence of Bharathidasan University),TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620 014

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT-THOMAS COOK FOREIGN EXCHANGE SERVICES
Study and recommendations for effective distribution channel for foreign exchange services at
Thomas cook branches Page 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I sincerely thank Asian Paints for providing me with an opportunity to pursue my internship
at their organization. I extend my thanks to my mentor Mr.Vinoth Kumar , Area Manager ,
Chennaifor providing me the necessary guidance and road map for successful completion of
the project.
I am thankful to Mr. Haridas Menon, Branch Manager Spencer’s for facilitating all
convenience throughout my project.
Most importantly I would like to thank Mrs. Aishvariya , Ms Niveditha and Mr. Uma
Mageshvaran for their valuable inputs and support
I am grateful to the Director and all the Faculty members of BIM, Trichy, for supporting
me and providing valuable guidance in all my endeavors.
Nivas.R

CONTENTS
1 Company overview 4
1.1Foreign Exchange Services 4
2 Scope of the project 4
3 Study on the existing distribution model of Thomas Cook Foreign
Exchange Services 5
3.1Market research 6
4 Feasibility study on the Online Forex Store 8
4.1Market research 8
4.2 Threats 10
5 Increasing Consumer Walk-ins at Spencer’s Plaza Branch 10
5.1 Market Research on the Shopkeepers of Spencer’s Plaza 11
5.2Promotional activities done in regions around Spencer’s 12
5.3 Recommendations for the future 13
6 Recommendations for an Effective Distribution model 14
7 Appendices 17

1.Company overview
Thomas Cook is one of the largest integrated travel and travel related financial services company in
the country offering a broad spectrum of services that include Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel,
MICE, Leisure Travel, Insurance, Visa & Passport services and E-Business. The Company set up its first
office in India in 1881, and has been providing world-class travel service for 132 years.
TCIL’s footprint currently extends to over 251 locations (including 28 airport counters) in 101 cities
across India, Mauritius & Sri Lanka and is supported by a strong partner network of 131 Gold Circle
Partners and 162 Preferred Sales Agents in over 100 cities pan India.
Thomas Cook (India) Limited is promoted by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited through its wholly-
owned subsidiary, Fairbridge Capital. Fairbridge is responsible for the execution of acquisition and
investment opportunities in the Indian subcontinent on behalf of the Fairfax family of companies.
1.1Foreign Exchange Services
All over the world Thomas Cook is well represented by its travel business, but in the case of India it is
the other way around. The forex division brings in more revenue than the travel business close to
60%. Thomas Cook was one of the first companies to secure the AD-2 licence from the RBI. It was
one of the first company to foray into such a segment and had a huge market share and was almost
a monopoly, but the situations have changed with competitors making a tough competition to
Thomascook. By AD-2 license category it could provide foreign exchange services only to certain
restrictions and they cannot deal with forex requirements related to business which the banks alone
could do. The Products that the Company deal with is as follows
1. Currency
2. Multi-currency cards
3. Traveller’s Cheque
4. Remittances
5. Demand Drafts
6. Money transfers (Moneygram and Express money)
Bulk of the transactions happen through currencies , but from the firm’s perspective they prefer to
sell through cashless means as it prevents importing currencies and gets backend revenue from the
third-parties .
2. Scope of the project
The project mainly deals with the below mentioned objectives
 Study on the existing distribution model of Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange Services
 Feasibility of the Online Forex Store of Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange Services
 Increasing Consumer Walk-ins at Spencer’s Plaza Branch
 Recommendations for Effective Distribution model of Thomas Cook

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PR
Thomas cook branches
3. Study on the existing distribution model of Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange Services
Pictorial Representation Of Thomas Cook Distribution network
In addition to this , the branches are
inquiries and to them and transactions
The relations with the NSA’s will vary as they share their profits on the transactions made and
sharing basis is left to the satisfaction of these travel agents .
There is also franchise model at Thomas Cook where the franchisee is termed as
Partners (GCP’s)TCIL is supported by a strong partner network of 131 Gold Circle Partners
the country. In Chennai region GCP’s are located in OMR and T.Nagar
the future of TCIL as it gaining popularity in the metros and profits could be reaped without any
costs.
In order to make a study on the preference of these
conducted with the educational consultants in the city. It was more like interview sessions with
these consultants to identify what Forex requirements are there for them and their students
. In order to understand the market better, a visit was made to the Education fair at HYATT regency
conducted by EDWISE. Bigger consultants like LYC
up and requires the support of the head office to strike a deal with these consult
While these consultants are also well segmented ,
at egmore and Educhannel at Annanagar deal with UK universities and Mancomp at egmore deal
with Australian universities .Most of the consultants prefer
requirements happens only for those students who pay with their savings or Father’s money , hence
it is a niche segment with huge volumes though which the company could never neglect.
Study on the existing distribution model of Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange Services
Pictorial Representation Of Thomas Cook Distribution network
es are also well networked with JUST DIAL which directs customer
inquiries and to them and transactions are also through in-house LT(Leisure travel) Conversions
ing basis is left to the satisfaction of these travel agents .
There is also franchise model at Thomas Cook where the franchisee is termed as Gold circle
is supported by a strong partner network of 131 Gold Circle Partners
the country. In Chennai region GCP’s are located in OMR and T.Nagar. Franchise model seems to be
In order to make a study on the preference of these channel partners, an exploratory research was
and the market better, a visit was made to the Education fair at HYATT regency
conducted by EDWISE. Bigger consultants like LYCEUM, PRINCETEN , EDWISE requires PAN INDIA tie
the support of the head office to strike a deal with these consultants.
are also well segmented ,some of the consultants like Halycon consultancy
t Annanagar deal with UK universities and Mancomp at egmore deal
with Australian universities .Most of the consultants prefer bank loans for their students and Forex
EXCHANGE SERVICES
Page 5
Study on the existing distribution model of Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange Services
also well networked with JUST DIAL which directs customer
(Leisure travel) Conversions.
Gold circle
is supported by a strong partner network of 131 Gold Circle Partners all over
. Franchise model seems to be
tners, an exploratory research was
and the market better, a visit was made to the Education fair at HYATT regency
EUM, PRINCETEN , EDWISE requires PAN INDIA tie-
Halycon consultancy
t Annanagar deal with UK universities and Mancomp at egmore deal
bank loans for their students and Forex

3.1.Market research
A market research was conducted to identify why people choose a particular forex store and to
check the awareness level of the brand Thomas Cook.The survey was conducted among the internet
users and mall visitors.
Sample Size -81
Sampling technique – Convenient sampling
The results obtained were as follows with regards to Brand Awareness.
On rating Thomas cook in its service effectiveness the results were as follows
An analysis with respect to why a people choose a particular forex store. The following factors were
considered and respondents were asked to rate on a likert scale (5 point scale)
 Availability of stores nearby
 Cost Effectiveness
 Service and Store atmosphere
 Trust and security
On making co-relation among these factors the output from SPSS is as follows.

This indicates that there is a strong correlation between Cost and Trust & security with value of
0.637 and significance level is at 0.01 level and also there is a co-relation of 0.57 between
Availability and Trust and security. This indicates that as the cost reduces , the Trust and security
increases in the services of a particular Forex store and the making the store Omnipresent will also
increase the trust and security.
Partial Correlations
By keeping Trust and security as a control variable , the co-relation among the other factors
become weak. This indicates that Trust and security seems to be an important factor why a
customer goes to a particular forex store.
Hence ensuring the Trust and security will make a customer go to a particular store and the trust &
security will be enhanced by reducing cost and increasing the Store availability.
On the feedback of how they came to know about Thomas Cook , the following results were
obtained,

4. Feasibility study on the Online Forex Store
Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, one of India’s largest integrated travel and travel related financial services
companies, has launched its Online Forex Store offering its comprehensive range of foreign
exchange products and services via its portal thomascook.in, making it the first company in India to
offer all customers the convenience and security of transacting foreign exchange services online.
USP’s:
 Dynamic and real-time display of foreign exchange rates for 26 global currencies available
online
 Range of products: Multi-currency forex prepaid cards (Borderless Prepaid), currency notes,
travellers
 cheques
 No additional credit card convenience charge
 Free doorstep delivery or collection at over 213 locations, pan India
 Request for Money Transfers and University fee remittance
Mr. Mahesh Iyer, Head – Foreign Exchange, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd said, “Thomas Cook India’s
internal research had revealed that for today’s traveler who is always on the go, easy access, speed
and convenience for his foreign exchange transactions was a critical requirement, as also for the
youth who are always looking online for their needs. Hence, we launched our Online Forex Store, to
empower customers with the ease and convenience of booking at home without compromising on
the famed Thomas Cook India experience & offline compliance. While banks offer online services for
their customers only, we have reiterated our consumer-centric approach by offering forex to
everyone – existing as well as potential customers.”
4.1Market research
In order to find how the awareness level is and to find whether such a service will make customers
buy currencies ,a survey was conducted among the internet users and online shoppers

Sample Size -81
Sampling technique – Convenient sampling
The results obtained were as follows with regards to Awareness.
As expected for a new service, the awareness level is low, when asked a customer if he is willing to
go online , the following results were obtained
This indicates that people are still reluctant to move online and more people prefer going to the
store to get currencies. It is understandable that for a new product there will be resistance among
the customers. TCIL could target the Innovators and Early adopters who are generally the online
shoppers like EBAY, Jabong , etc and it is a right move to start in the online medium and to shift into
Click and mortar business but aggressive advertisements to create popularity for the service .
An analysis with respect to why a people prefer the online medium. The following factors were
considered and respondents were asked to rate on a likert scale (5 point scale)
 Affinity to travel to store
 Better security
 Ease of use
On making co-relation among these factors the output from SPSS is as follows.

The Table indicates that all factors are interdependent and cannot be isolated and these are the
reasons why a customer goes to an online store.
But there are certain issues that have to be addressed before going into the online medium.
4.2 Threats
 Delay in delivery (5 days).
 Loss due to exchange fluctuations between transaction time and delivery.
 Channel Conflict –between Retailers & online platform
(Transactions charges differ).
 Confusion may lead to lack of trust in the brand.
5. Increasing Consumer Walk-ins at Spencer’s Plaza Branch
Spencer’s Plaza is the sole branch operating in the Mall in the entire city. The mall concept was
envisaged to tap the shopping customers, especially the NRI’s and foreigners who look for
encashment. The branch is operating for a reasonably long time and it used to be cashbox in the city
as Spencer’s was the only mall around 7-8 years ago, but the time has changed now , with Malls in
the city have sprung up at various locations and Mall market has become too cluttered with footfalls
drastically reducing in Spencer’s and brands have also started moving out.
Thomas Cook’s branch at Spencer’s was also not spared due to the spurt in the Malls in the city ,
with its walk-ins coming down drastically in comparison to the previous years. There has been huge
debate among the management whether to shift the branch or not. To add fuel to the woes of the
Staff , Leisure travel (LT) has been shifted and the branch is left alone with its FOREX business.
In order to increase the Customer walk-ins , a number of promotional activities and market research
on the store shopkeepers and banks surrounding the branch was done.

5.1 Market Research on the Shopkeepers of Spencer’s Plaza
An exploratory research was done on the shopkeepers of Spencer’s . A convenience sampling
technique was used
Sample Size: 103
Questions were generally open-ended to identify the core needs in terms of forex for these
Shopkeepers and their customers.
The following results were obtained ,
The stores that do Forex transactions are mainly the
, whereas the branded stores and famous retail outlets generally don’t deal with forex as they accept
international debit cards. This is huge target market for Forex business which you cannot find in the
other urbane malls.
No
55%
Stores doing Forex Transactions in
Market Research on the Shopkeepers of Spencer’s Plaza
ended to identify the core needs in terms of forex for these
ollowing results were obtained ,
The stores that do Forex transactions are mainly the handicrafts , Jewellery and Indigenous shops
Yes
40%
Rarely
5%
Stores doing Forex Transactions in
Mall
EXCHANGE SERVICES
Page 11
ended to identify the core needs in terms of forex for these
and Indigenous shops

Among the shopkeepers that deal with Forex business, 54% deal with other money changers inside
the mall and only 18 % deal with TCIL which is indeed a hard fact to digest. TCIL could try to convert
such shop owners .
The general perception among the shopkeepers i
other moneychangers in the mall and they also commented on the reducing footfalls in the mall that
has reduced the transactions within the mall.
Firms like SM and Petronax have very well networked with the
difficult to tap this market as Thomas Cook has to abide by the Legal provisions of the RBI ,since the
shopkeepers look for flexibility in their transaction and find the policies of TCIL to be stringent in
comparison to the other Forex agencies.
But at least 38% of the shopkeepers showed interest in referring the customers to TCIL
and the result of such an activity could be found the very next day
the feedback form that he was referred by the shop in the mall.
5.2Promotional activities done in regions around Spencer’s
As a part of increasing brand awareness of
were visited and pamphlet distribution was done across HNI flats and Villas in areas like Venugopal
avenue , Subha rao avenue and Harrington avenues . These areas were concentrated on the purview
that people living in these areas belong to the elite class
The following flats were approached to distribute pamphlets to individual apartments and
permission to put up posters was also sought.
 Vijayshanti – strawberry
 Sarvakalyan apartments
 Kenwith Garden
 Dr.Thoma Bhavan
 Harrington apartment
Outside the
Mall
28%
TCIL
18%
Agents Dealt by the shopkeepers
e shopkeepers that deal with Forex business, 54% deal with other money changers inside
The general perception among the shopkeepers is that TCIL rates are much expensive than that of
changers in the mall and they also commented on the reducing footfalls in the mall that
has reduced the transactions within the mall.
Firms like SM and Petronax have very well networked with these shopkeepers . TCIL also finds it
the other Forex agencies.
least 38% of the shopkeepers showed interest in referring the customers to TCIL
activity could be found the very next day with a customer mentioning in
the feedback form that he was referred by the shop in the mall.
Promotional activities done in regions around Spencer’s
ncreasing brand awareness of Thomas cook Spencer’s branch, the following areas
visited and pamphlet distribution was done across HNI flats and Villas in areas like Venugopal
that people living in these areas belong to the elite class
permission to put up posters was also sought.
Inside the mall
(Petronas, BPM,
Newway,etc
54%
TCIL
18%
Agents Dealt by the shopkeepers
EXCHANGE SERVICES
Page 12
e shopkeepers that deal with Forex business, 54% deal with other money changers inside
s that TCIL rates are much expensive than that of
changers in the mall and they also commented on the reducing footfalls in the mall that
se shopkeepers . TCIL also finds it
least 38% of the shopkeepers showed interest in referring the customers to TCIL in future
with a customer mentioning in
branch, the following areas
visited and pamphlet distribution was done across HNI flats and Villas in areas like Venugopal

 Mist apartment
 Rosemere apartments
These apartments were chosen on the context that the residents of the flats could be our target
segment.
Pamphlets were also distributed to the individual homes / Villas across these streets mentioned
above.
Creating branding space within the famous retail outlets was also approached and the following
Retail outlets were willing to promote Thomas Cook Brand in their stores, (despite many of the other
stores turned down the offer).
 Ibaco icecream parlour - New No 2 Old No 73, Casa Major Road, Egmore, Chennai – 600008.
 Kovai Pazhammudhir nilayam No 74, Near Prasanth Hospital, Harrington Road, Chetpet,
Chennai – 600031
Manager Ganesan -9789977869
These retail outlets are at prime locations and the shoppers spend considerable time in these stores,
thereby placing up Thomas Cook posters over there will create greater visibility to the brand.
Advertisements were also posted in the free listing websites like Quikr and OLX which is the next
generation revolution of marketing that gives a better reach to the target consumers at free of cost.
Tele-calling and e-mails were sent to the existing customers in order to maintain relationships with
the customers who usually make bulk of the transactions in the branch. The responses varied with
some of them were linked via LT and some were student related transactions and the customers
were generally happy with the services done by TCIL and this makes them to come back to TCIL
A set of 29 banks were approached for referrals relating to forex requirements coming to their banks
and requesting to divert all transactions which the banks are unable to perform. Most of the banks
in these localities don’t have a separate forex department and hence approaching the banks could
provide useful business to the branch. The localities include Anna salai, Whites Road, Natesan Road
and Triplicane Road. Appointments were fixed with the branch managers and they were briefed
about the products of Thomas Cook and a request for referral was put forward to them.
5.3 Recommendations for the future
The perception among the people has to be changed that TCIL is expensive, During the tenure of 2
months the branch has been giving rates at par with competitors for large volumes , but rates are
higher for smaller volumes . As research indicated that there is a strong Co-relation between Trust &
security and Cost effectiveness. This indicates that to bring in fresh walk-ins, gaining revenues has to
be sacrificed for the sake of increasing market share in the mall.
In order to gain in trust of the customer, the Rate board display has to be done which would give a
sense of security to these customers.
Tracking the existing customer has to be done, which is been done currently in the branch but more
emphasis could be done to ensure repeat business.

For encashment , brand awareness has to be ensured at all touch points of the foreigners . The
foreigners usually go for encashment on the advice of the influencers who are generally the cab
drivers , Hotels they stay and shops in the mall. Creating brand awareness through them could
increase footfalls of foreigners. While interviewing a group of foreigners , some of them mentioned
that they could recollect the name Thomas cook through mall Posters in the country elsewhere.
Except in the store space no posters , Wall hangings could be found in the mall (Spencer’s). By
placing the posters near the entrance or on the central atrium, better visibility of the brand could be
ensured.
Shifting the branch to other malls cannot ensure transactions and revenues to go high , as the malls
in the city have become cluttered and similar to the Mumbai city the footfalls are expected to
become moderate in all malls and as per times real estate special report says that though many
malls have sprung up, still the foreigners visit the spencer’s as they feel that the Mall is economical
and they are here to buy the indigenous products and not the branded ones which they could find in
their country itself. The Spencer’s branch is still a Cash cow and the management could look to milk
the cow for a couple of years and then try to make amendments.
6. Recommendations for an Effective Distribution model
Designing a marketing channel system involves analyzing customer needs, establishing channel
objectives, identifying major channel alternatives, and evaluating major channel alternatives. it could
be better analysed by using the Value Adds versus Costs of different channels.
As it could be seen, the cost per transaction is less in the case of Online Forex store and through Just
dial customers but the revenues decrease as we move into retail segment and is costlier when

channel partners are added. Hence TCIL should look for cost effective ways in increasing the channel
network, since the Forex business is a low-margin business where adding value to the product is
extremely difficult. The strategy so far has been Selective distribution which relies on more than a
few but less than all of the intermediaries willing to carry a particular product, but in order to sustain
such a heavy competition the strategy has to shift to intensive distribution where the firm places the
services in as many outlets as possible.
The firm could look to open outlets to spread its network all over the city , the firm could look for
cheaper alternatives like opening counters in fuel stations or look for Kiosk type counters in big
retail outlets or malls.
While in the case of GCP’s the firm will have the following advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
 Financial: Franchising creates another source of income for the franchisor, through payment
of franchise fees, royalty & levies in addition to the possibility of sourcing private label
products to franchisees. This capital injection provides an improved cash flow, a higher
return on investment and higher profits. Other financial benefits that the franchisor enjoys
are reduced operating, distribution and advertising costs. Of course that also means more
allocated funds for research and development. Additionally, there will always be economies
of scale with regard to purchasing power.
 Operational: The franchisor can have a smaller central organization when compared to
developing and owning locations themselves. Franchising also means uniformity of
procedures, which reflects on consistency, enhanced productivity levels and better quality.
Effective quality control is another advantage of the franchise system. The franchisee is
usually self motivated since he has invested much time and money in the business, which
means working hard to bring in better organizational and monetary results. This also reflects
on more satisfied customers and improved sales effectiveness.
 Strategic: To the franchisor, franchising means the spreading of risks by multiplying the
number of locations through other people’s investment. That means faster network
expansion and a better opportunity to focus on changing market needs, which in its turn
means reduced effect from competitors.
 Administrative: With a smaller central organization, the business maintains a more cost
effective labour force, reduction of key staff turnover and more effective recruitment.
Disadvantages
 The requirement to pay the franchise fees and royalty to the franchisor, which in some cases
can be exaggerated.
 The transfer of all goodwill built in the local market to the franchisor upon expiration or
termination of the franchise contract.
 The necessity of abiding by the franchisor’s operating systems, standards, policies and
procedures.
 Reduced corporate profit margin due to payment of royalties and levies.

Considering the present scenario TCIL could look for more GCP’s as it reduces running cost and since
Thomas cook is an established brand hence getting franchisees will also not be a difficult task.
In order to maintain relationships with the channel partners ,the following steps could be
implemented
 NSA’s and Educational consultant could be given targets and their commissions will be based
on the numbers shown rather than by negotiations as it would streamline and integrate the
channel partners.
 Events for these channel partners can be held like a dinner or High tea once in a year or
before the start of the business season apart from these commissions as it would create long
time relationships with these channel partners.
 Rewards and recognitions can be given for those channel partners who perform
exceptionally well.
 At the retail level, existing customer list should be tracked and a membership program can
be started by giving membership cards and points re-imbursement could be done on repeat
purchases just like how the banking sector started in the Credit card and now such a facility
could be seen in even a Saloon like Naturals or Green Trends.
 Seasonal discounts or offers could be given to select currencies at off-season times .
Generally the trend in the BTQ customers will be get currencies for INR worth 30,000 to
35,000 but if lured they can buy still around 50,000. These customers have the willingness to
buy and have considerable buying power. A small gift can also be given to them for buying
for 50,000 , thereby creating a customer delight and could make them to come back to the
same store
 A facebook page could be created for every branch and customers may be instructed to like
the page and any updates on Price, Offers, etc could be given. For example, consider the
current situation where the dollar prices are on a historical rise , dollar purchasing customers
could be updated with a sudden price decrease or similar kind of service. Such services
would make TCIL differentiated from its competitors.
 Selling BPC in other FFMC’s and banks could be an option which would create a new
platform for growth.
 Moneygram sub-agents could be scouted by converting big retailers and jewellers at prime
locations as Moneygram provides commissions to TCIL and creates greater visibility for the
brand .
 Newer market segments like NRI services and NRI guest houses could be targeted. A
database was created during the tenure of the project and even mails were sent , though
there wasn’t much response, the sales team could work in converting them into channel
partners.

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