Features | Robin Deller's Imagine Cruising: Building an International Empire on Honesty and Analytical Rigor

Imagine Cruising, the successful international cruise holiday business founded by Robin Deller, is built on a strategy of curation and value, not simply being cheap. The company focuses on creating cruise holidays with a compelling "value proposition" for the consumer. Deller notes that although the average holiday price is over £5,000 per person, the value remains high through strong negotiation with individual suppliers.

This model allowed the business to become an international success, leading to an acquisition where the Emirates Group took a 51% stake. Crucially, Deller maintains that this major partnership is supportive, allowing him to grow the company without constant pressure to change the successful business model he created.

Core Business Philosophies

Robin Deller runs Imagine Cruising on a set of core principles that underpin the company's resilience and growth.

1. Honesty as the Foundation

The single most non-negotiable principle in Deller’s 25 years of business is honesty. Honesty in all partnerships (internal staff, external suppliers, and customers) is what creates trust. Fundamentally, it allows the business to make decisions based on facts rather than fiction, which is critical for productive delegation and investment. Deller embraces a direct, "Marmite" style of truth-telling, prioritizing "consistency" over "cuddly and nice" but non-confrontational interactions.

2. The Green, Amber, Red Traffic Light System

To manage risk and drive continuous evolution, Imagine Cruising uses a simple, quantifiable Traffic Light System for all business initiatives.

• Green: Proven success. This is a reliable area the company must build upon and expand.

• Amber: Unproven. This area requires continuous work over a defined period to either become Green or Red.

• Red: Failure. Once identified, a Red initiative must be quickly eliminated and pushed to one side. "Red is unlikely to turn green".

3. Data-Driven Marketing and Growth

Deller views money spent on marketing not as a soft cost, but as an investment to "create income, to drive profit".

• Analytical Rigor: The company employs an entire analytical team to track every pound spent against a predetermined expectation, actual outcome, and variance.
• Marketing Focus: Marketing initiatives must be definable and trackable, challenging the idea of "fluff" and ensuring all spend is directly tied to sales output.
• Process of Evolution: All business growth is seen as a process of evolution, breaking down large goals into "a thousand steps" that are more "palatable" to manage and measure.

Check out the full interview now and many others on the Aleksandra King Youtube Channel or discover more about the origins of Robin Deller and his business prowess.