By Linda Humphrey
PARIS -- The founders of Club Med, the resort chain that claims
to offer "life as it should be," resigned after a bitter clash with
the club's new chairman, Philippe Bourguignon, over its
direction.
Gilbert Trigano and his son Serge, who founded Club Med, or Club
Mediterranee SA, in 1950, said they plan to launch a rival holiday
club. "The new team has its own methods, which are not mine, and
there is no place left for a Trigano," Serge Trigano, who has been
chairman of the supervisory board, a newly created post, since
February, told Europe 1 radio. "I don't know if this is going to be
Club Mickey or something else, but it is no longer my club."
Bourguignon, who is credited with turning around Disneyland
Paris, replaced the younger Trigano as Club Med chairman in
February at the demand of the company's major shareholders.
Trigano's post on the supervisory board will be filled by Tiberto
Ruy Brandolini d'Adda, a member of Italy's Agnelli family, which,
with a 19% interest, is Club Med's largest single shareholder.
The Triganos' exit came as Club Med posted a $68.8 million loss
for the first half of its fiscal year ended April 30, following a
$104 million restructuring charge due to the ongoing closing of
seven resorts. Club Med has not yet revealed the locations of those
ill-fated resorts.
Club Med villages are found mainly in Europe and the
Mediterranean, although the group includes 15 villages in North
America and two in Tahiti. The resort will open its 116th village
this fall, on the Indonesian island of Bintan.
In a letter to shareholders, Bourguignon said, "The Club has
fantastic potential, which is under-exploited today due to multiple
weaknesses."
According to Scott Berman, director of hospitality consulting
services for Coopers & Lybrand in Miami, Club Med has slipped
because of a surge of all-inclusive competition during the past 10
years. All-inclusive contenders now go beyond the land-based
resorts, as "cruise ships are promoting themselves as inclusives on
water," Berman said.
Club Med, which pioneered the all-inclusive concept, actually
has become less inclusive than many of its rivals. The resort's
guests pay for most alcoholic drinks and some activities, such as
horseback riding, with prepurchased colored beads.
Labor costs in Europe might have hurt Club Med as well, Berman
said. "One of the basic foundations of the inclusive industry is
running with substantially lower operating costs, such as labor,"
he said. "If you're running an inclusive in a market where labor is
not cheap, it can certainly influence the bottom line."