Managing director Ian Gilder told TTG said the decision to open the second shop in Horbury, near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, came because general manager Liz Williams “knows the area very well”.
Adore Holidays opened its first shop, Epping Travel & Cruises, in the Essex town in 2022 and Gilder added he was looking to “expand my portfolio in the coming years quite aggressively”.
Williams is now splitting her time between the shops as general manager of both outlets.
“It’s 186 miles between the two shops so it is long distance – but I’m sure we can make it work,” explained Gilder.
Adore has taken over the former premises of Travel Safe in Horbury and has just appointed an apprentice to work in the shop.
“We’re also looking for another part-time manager or sales staff as it’s really a two-person shop,” added Gilder.
“It’s been going well so far, and the first month of trading was profitable so that’s good. Obviously, it will take a little while to build up our reputation in the local community but Horbury is similar to Epping as both areas are pretty affluent.”
Gilder said that its customers in Horbury during the first few weeks had primarily been couples in their 70s with river and ocean cruises proving particularly popular so far.
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The premises had only been fitted out as a travel agency two years ago, which has kept down the costs of conversion for Adore.
Gilder said that trading at the existing Epping store had been “doing well” in recent weeks with a 20% rise in sales thanks to customers making larger bookings.
