LONDON SHIPS

London Ships



London Ships

Executive Summary

The current situation in the cruise industry and in London SHIPS is not as favorable as they would like to be. The vast majority of London SHIPS' business consists of its cruise operations, with tour operating accounting for just 5.0% of sales in 2002 (excluding eliminations). Moreover, London SHIPS has not attempted to expand its tour operating business in recent years. Sales from tour operating fell by 5.8% between 1997 and 2002 to total EURO£229 million, whilst revenues from cruise operations almost doubled over the same period to reach almost EURO£4.4 billion.

Company Overview

Many companies can deliver solid results under favorable market conditions, but it takes a particularly resilient organization to sustain that level of performance when times get tough. London SHIPS proved once again that they could maintain their record for industry-leading performance even amidst the most challenging conditions. In response to the pressures on the leisure travel industry created by the tragic events of September 11, 2001, they lowered their prices to increase the value of cruising and encourage vacationers to select cruising over land-based alternatives. (Keller 1998 pp.121)

Despite the fact that they are still operating in a tough economic environment, London SHIPS' long-term prospects as favorable. Their optimistic outlook stems from the strengths that make London SHIPS unique in their industry: the power of their six brands, their proven growth strategy, a high level of consumer satisfaction with wide range of cruise products, and the skill of their management team. London SHIPS' strengths, combined with the fact that they operate a flexible business that performs well even in a challenging environment, will continue to drive their success over the long term. In the meantime, they continue their commitment to careful cost suppression, an effort that spans the activities of the entire organization.

Objectives

Mission and Strategic Objectives

"London SHIPS Cruise Lines is the largest, most popular, and most profitable cruise line in the world. The leader in the contemporary cruise market. London SHIPS sail to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Mexico, the Panama Canal, Alaska, and Hawaii. The company's customer base is divided up into three different target audiences. They are: the contemporary segment which is served by the seven days or shorter cruise and features a casual ambience, the premium segment which is served by the seven-day-and longer market, and the luxury segment which caters to the experienced cruiser for seven-day-and-longer sailing. London SHIPS has the unique ability to provide customers with a wide range of vacation choices that appeal to any taste, interest, lifestyle, or budget. With a mission to surpass customer expectations, London SHIPS offers leisure travelers vacation experiences equal or superior to those at the world's most popular travel destinations. London SHIPS wants to remain the leader and innovator in the cruise industry and intends to do this with sophisticated promotional efforts and to gain loyalty from former cruisers by refurbishing ships, varying activities and ports of call, and being innovative in all aspects of ship ...