This is the second annual report of your Company since its successful
IPO in July 2009, and my second letter to you as the Chairman.
Let me start by sharing with you some facts about Mahindra Holidays.
- At the end of 2004-05, your Company had 28,491 vacation owners in
its fold. On 31 March 2011, the membership stood at 125,169. That
translates to a 25 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over six
years — a creditable achievement by any yardstick.
- Six years ago, your Company had one product — vacation ownership
under Club Mahindra Holidays. Today, while Club Mahindra Holidays
continues to dominate, it has various other products and offerings such
as Zest, Club Mahindra Fundays, Mahindra Homestays, clubmahindra.travel
and the newly launched rugged camping vacations called terra. Each
provides differentiated offerings for various types of clients. And
each has a high growth potential.
- Today, your Company has a selection of 35 resorts across hill
stations, beaches, backwaters, wildlife, forts and heritage, as well as
international destinations. In addition, Mahindra Homestays provides
the experiences of authentic India by guests living in carefully vetted
Indian homes — ranging from palaces and heritage properties, to
plantations as well as rural and farm homes. On 31 March 2011, Mahindra
Homestays was affiliated with 282 homes comprising 750 rooms across 60
locations in India.
I could go on. The point of these examples is to illustrate the
phenomenal growth and goodwill that your Company has enjoyed over the
last six years. Simply put, we have understood the needs of an
increasingly better off set of consumers who desire to have vacation
experiences with a difference; and, in the process, we have grown the
business in different directions through attractive offerings; all
united by the power of the Mahindra brand — a name associated with
trust, credibility and transparency.
Rapid growth, such as what has been witnessed by your Company,
occasionally requires review and consolidation, lest it unwittingly
gets out of hand. In the first half of 2010-11, the senior management
of Mahindra Holidays asked a simple question: What are the
improvements that we must do today so that Mahindra Holidays is even
better prepared to benefit from future market opportunities?
This led your Company to initiate measures to further improve
productivity and create an even stronger foundation for growth. There
were several initiatives. Let me name a few.
The first involved strengthening the process of customer acquisition,
so as to build a more robust customer portfolio. The second was to
standardise and further upgrade the quality and processes of customer
interface — from the point of initial contact to sales to member
relations and resort service. The third was to implement processes
based upon best in class TQM principles across the organisation. The
fourth was to further focus on building a seamless, enterprise-wide
information technology backbone to handle exponential growth in volumes
while increasing customer satisfaction.
Thus, the tasks for driving the next phase of growth were to build a
more robust customer base; standardise and improve all customer facing
experiences; make quality the watchword of the organisation; and create
a world class IT system to facilitate all aspects of the business.
It was time to pause; to re-focus on the key drivers; to create an
unmatched customer experience; and move on to the next phase of growth.
These initiatives were identified and put in place in the first half of
2010-11. While they put a pause on growth and somewhat dampened your
Companys financial results, I have no doubts that Mahindra Holidays is
again getting itself into a position to rapidly and profitably leverage
the growth opportunities in Indias leisure hospitality market.
As a Chairman of a listed Company, I am expected to be circumspect
about forward-looking statements. Nevertheless, I believe that the
next year should see a significant growth in room inventory. Moreover,
I expect the management to achieve its improved quality and
productivity goals. If these were to occur, one should presume that
your Company ought to generate higher shareholder value along with
higher revenue growth. I am, therefore, optimistic of the foreseeable
future.
In January 2011, the Mahindra Group launched a new brand positioning
spanning all industries, companies, and geographies. It is expressed
by the word Rise. I am sure that you have seen this in various
advertisement and media releases. Rise articulates a core group
purpose: We will challenge conventional thinking and innovatively use
all our resources to drive positive change in the lives of our
stakeholders and communities across the world, to enable them to Rise.
Mahindra Holidays, too, shall Rise. We will keep raising the bar;
re-define and expand opportunities; innovate products and processes for
the customers; and drive change, not just through greater shareholder
value but by bettering the environment and the lives of our
communities.
Thank you for your support. We treasure it.
With regards
A K Nanda
Chairman
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