An agency believes “the personal touch” will be the key to its success as it opens its first high street store.
Freedom Travel Group member Holidays & Cruises for You opened a shop in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, last week.
Previously, the company was based in a barn and acted as a call centre, only seeing customers who booked appointments in advance.
Steve Plummer, director of the company, which has a turnover of £1.5 million, said he believed the investment in the store would pay for itself within the next couple of months.
“We were lucky enough to be able to finance the new shop and its refit through the business and we didn’t need help from the banks,” he said. “Judging by the past few days, I’d expect the business to pay for that investment pretty quickly.”
The company started out five years ago selling group cruises, and began diversifying when Cunard and P&O Cruises cut commission to 5% and other cruise lines dropped their commission to 10%. Now the agency sells all types of holidays.
“We had to start selling other holidays because otherwise we would have really struggled,” Plummer said. “Now we have five members of staff; two will work on the front desk and three will work in the back office. It’s a really exciting time for us.
“We’ve been looking for a shop for some time because more of our customers wanted to come and see us. We wanted to be on the high street so we could offer the personal touch.”
He said local residents had been receptive because it was the first agency to open in the town for 10 years.
The shop has “an old-school feel”, with wood-panelled walls and brochure racks to match the style of its surroundings in the town.