Thomas Cook (India) Ltd awarded ‘Superbrand’

India’s largest integrated travel and travel related financial services company Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, has been honoured with the prestigious ‘Superbrand’ status.  Superbrands is a global organisation dedicated to recognise, showcase and pay tribute to the best brands in each country. For the fourth edition of Consumer Superbrands, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd formed an exclusive group of 86 winners, selected by consumers and then by an independent Superbrands Council comprising eminent professionals from India’s corporate sector. Superbrands recognizes the brand custodian’s persevering efforts to build a brand that is strong on consumer perceptions, making it more resilient to fluctuating economic conditions. Participation in Superbrands is strictly by invitation post a careful selection process.

The concept originated in the UK in 1993, to chronicle case studies of exceptional brands, to pay tribute to them and their brand guardians; and since its inception 86 countries have already published 300 volumes featuring more than 20,000 case studies.

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd was selected post a rigorous two step selection process which took almost five months, with first the consumer (19,011 participants and more than 1.10 million scores registered) and then the Superbrands Council members. The Council Members consisted of eminent company heads who know what it takes to build successful brands, including:

Mr. Vineet Agarwal, ED-Transport Corporation of India 
Mr. Amar Babu, MD-Lenovo India Pvt. Ltd. 
Mr. Ashish Dikshit, President-Madura Garments Fashion & Lifestyle Ltd. 
Mr. Punit Goenka, CEO-Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. 
Mr. Kuldip Kaura, MD-ACC Limited 
Mr. R. M. Malla, CMD- IDBI Bank Limited 
Mr. B. S. Nagesh, Customer Care Associate & V Chairman-Shopper’s Stop Ltd 
Mr. Sundeep Sikka, CEO-Reliance Capital Asset Management Limited 
Mr. N. Thiruambalam, CMD-Heinz India Private Limited 

Mr. Madhavan Menon, Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd  said, “Receiving such a powerful endorsement from our customers and captains of industry is a matter of great pride and is also equally humbling. Pride because it is testimony to Thomas Cook’s continuing heritage of a pioneer in the travel services space - as the creator of the world’s first package holiday, travellers cheques, hotel vouchers and more recently, India’s first pre paid multi-currency Forex card from a non-banking financial company. The recognition and  award is also humbling because, it lays a heavier responsibility on us as the Brand guardians to continue on our journey of delivering on our customers’ expectations of us for customer-centric product  innovation and benchmark service excellence”

About Thomas Cook (India) Limited:  

Thomas Cook is 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.
Thomas Cook’s pioneering heritage as inventor of the world’s first package holiday (1841) was followed by a number of innovations and marketing initiatives that we take for granted today, such as the pre-paid hotel coupon (in 1868), holiday brochures (in 1858) and travellers cheques (in 1874).  
 
TCIL’s footprint currently extends to over 249 locations (including 26 airport counters) in 100 cities across India, Mauritius & Sri Lanka and is supported by a strong partner network of 122 Gold Circle Partners and 172  Preferred  Sales Agents in over 100 cities pan India.
The Brand Trust Report™, India study 2012, has ranked Thomas Cook (India) Ltd as The most Trusted Brand in Travel Services. Thomas Cook India has also been honoured  with the prestigious “Favourite Specialist Tour Operator" award at the Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Travel Awards 2012 and was  conferred with the CNBC AWAAZ -  “ Best company providing foreign exchange” in India for the third year in a row. In addition, Thomas
Cook (India) Ltd has been awarded the ‘Most Trusted Tour Operator Brand’ by the Times Travel Honours 2011 and also recognized as a  “Superbrand” 2011-2012 by consumers for excellence in travel services. TCIL was awarded the prestigious National Tourism Award (2010-2011) for ‘Outstanding Performance’ as an ‘Inbound Tour Operator’ in Category I, third position.
CRISIL has reaffirmed Thomas Cook (India) Limited with the ‘CRISIL A1+ and AA- rating.
For more information, please visit www.thomascook.in

About Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited: 

Fairfax Financial Holdings is a Toronto-based financial services holding company with a global presence in insurance and reinsurance and a portfolio of assets in excess of $30 billion invested worldwide. The Company, founded in 1985 by the present Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Prem Watsa, has over the past 25  years, demonstrated a strong financial track record to achieve an annual appreciation in Book Value per Share of 24.7% annually.
Fairfax has almost 20 general insurance subsidiaries and joint ventures globally, including ICICI Lombard (India). The portfolio also includes several market leading insurance companies such as Odyssey Re (USA), Crum & Forster (USA), First Capital (Singapore), Fairfax Brasil (Brazil), Gulf Insurance (Kuwait).
Fairfax is engaged in long term investments from its own resources, with a focus to delivering long term capital appreciation through a flexible and value oriented approach.