Hays Travel is to open four new branches before the end of the year as it starts a homeworker recruitment drive.
One of the new shops will be within the company’s new headquarters in Keel Square, in Sunderland city centre, with the other three in the Yorkshire towns of Selby and Beverley and Northwich, Cheshire.
The openings bring the company’s total number of branches up to 175 and between them create 20 jobs. Retail director Jane Schumm had outlined plans to open 180 shops by Christmas at the Hays Independence Group conference in October.
Staff are due to move into the Keel Square HQ next year.
Each of the new outlets will have their own local Facebook pages to promote special offers and will offer the company’s new finance scheme where customers can spread the cost of their holiday in monthly payments with the final balance due six weeks before departure – brought in as a remedy to soaring credit card payment processing charges.
Hays Travel’s head of retail, Paula Barrett, said: “We are thrilled to be able to announce even more shop openings before the turn of the year. We are now very well established in the Yorkshire region and these two new branches in the area further our coverage even more. We are delighted that our expansion in the north west is also blooming and to be opening a store within our new headquarters in Sunderland.
“2018 has been a fantastic year for us; reaching the £1 billion turnover mark, securing a new head office premises, and continuing our retail expansion across the UK. We have opened 14 new shops this year and we have no plans to stop in 2019.”
As well as expanding on the high street, Hays is also focussing on its homeworking division, with plans to recruit 200 more homeworkers this financial year. The company will up its homeworker marketing in order to secure its new recruits and has regular training dates available.
Hays currently has 235 homeworkers on board over two packages – Personal Travel Consultant’s build their own business with support from Hays’ expert head office teams, while Premier Homeworkers are fed unlimited leads.