A few weeks ago, I briefly mentioned a new investment opportunity in the travel portal space in which I had taken an investment.
Justin Time have now announced the launch of their distress inventory business - 11th may according to the article on myBroadBand.co.za and 22nd May according to the Justin-Time website.
What is distress inventory? (from Janet Parkers article on Justin-Time on myBroadBand.co.za)
The suppliers — hotels, guesthouses, country houses, B&Bs, self-catering accommodation and game lodges — upload unsold rooms at a minimum 20% discount, from 30 days to a day before they become available. This last-minute room stock, which the group refers to as “distressed inventoryâ€, is often the hardest to sell via traditional means. So any sale for the supplier is a bonus. At any stage in the process the discount can be increased.
LastMinute tried a launch in South Africa a few years back, and hasn’t created much presence, but from my discussions with the Justin Time team under Managing Director Fraser Gregg, they appear to be much more aggressive in building up their business.
WotIf have created a similar successful business in a short space of time in the Australian marketplace, so I’ll be watching Justin-Time closely to see if they can achieve a similar success in the South African space. (and then internationally, as they have aggressive international expansion plans)
1 response so far ↓
1 Lewis Chesler // May 11, 2007 at 8:12 am
Hi Eric,Good to read your article on Justin.There is much interest from overseas investors too and all the Tier 1 shares have been placed.Only Tier 2 which will be higher priced but in a public company which allows “Over The Counter” trading.
Cheers,Lewis
Leave a Comment