First Choice has signed up The Bowens Travel Group that includes Bowens’ York and Applebys brands as its latest franchise partner.
The group of 39 shops located in Leicestershire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands, Northamptonshire, Bedford and Lincolnshire will be re-branded as First Choice by December.
Travelweekly.co.uk revealed exclusively yesterday that an announcement was imminent but First Choice Retail managing director Cheryl Powell would not reveal which agency had agreed to become a franchise partner because she said staff were not being told until Wednesday night.
Announcing the deal on Thursday she said the shop network is “a perfect fit” with its own network.
Powell scrapped a franchise deal with Clitheroe-based Travelplan, which would have been its second following a deal with West Country miniple Just Go, because it planned to expand in areas where First Choice already had shops.
She said: “As soon as we announced that Just Go were going to be our first First Choice Partners, we sent out a mailing and were immediately contacted by Paul Connell (retail trading director) and Kevin Lower (chief executive) of The Bowens Travel Group who were one of the first companies to pursue this opportunity and I am delighted that a company as large as Bowens; Appleby and Yorks, who have shops in places that are strategically important to First Choice, has decided to become a partner.”
Lower admitted it had been a tough summer and the group had been lookig at various options to grow business. “It’s a great opportunity for us to grow and expand,” he said. “When we learned about the First Choice Franchise Partners scheme, we were keen to know more and by talking to Cheryl and her team, we have seen a great opportunity to continue to gorw and expand various areas of the business such as foreign exchange.”
Bowens has been associated with coach travel in the West Midlands and Birmingham for 60 years.