Kuoni is to open travel agencies in John Lewis stores in Norwich and Cribbs Causeway shopping centre near Bristol.
The tour operator already has eight John Lewis outlets nationally and the two new stores will bring the total to ten when they open this autumn.
Managing director Derek Jones said Norwich had been on the company’s wish list since it began opening on the high-street but stressed its new outlet in John Lewis in Cribbs Causeway shopping centre would not replace its nearby Bristol shop.
He said: “Norwich has been our top 20 list for new stores since we started but it’s been a case of waiting for the right site.
“With Cribbs Causeway it’s slightly different. Bristol was one of the first shops we opened, we have been there for five years and it has been a really successful store. But we think Cribbs Causeway gives us a different reach, it’s on the motorway network and the customers will be different. It’s not replacing the Bristol store.”
Jones said the partnership so far with John Lewis had been “hugely successful”. “John Lewis is really pleased and we’re delighted with it,” he added.
But he reassured the trade in the Norwich and Cribbs Causeway areas, saying independent agents were continuing to benefit from openings of new Kuoni stores.
“We have gathered a lot of evidence that increased brand awareness in the location [of a new Kuoni store] helps to drive interest and revenue through other agents, and we are continuing to see that happen,” he said.