Travelstore unveils new retail sites

wcastle have been earmarked as the next sites for Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Travelstore agencies.

Sir Richard, who opened the first Virgin Travelstore outlet in London Victoria last week, said he wants to have around 10 high-street outlets within three years.

The shops will have a ‘retro-fifties’ look and the main feature will be plasma screens displaying information down-loaded straight from the Travelstore website.

Although established operators are looking at closing high-street retail operations in favour of cheaper methods of distribution, Sir Richard claims the Virgin name and the fact the agencies are impartial will ensure the venture does well.

He said: “There are too many agencies selling their own specific products and they are not doing the trade or themselves any good. It’s vital that Virgin Travelstore is impartial.”

Virgin’s Worldwide Travel, Travelstore.com and its Teletext service have combined to trade under the Travelstore name.