Staff at the agency’s Beales branch in Bournemouth were left facing an uncertain future when Beales’ administrators announced plans to close the entire shop.
However, Paul Hardwick, head of commercial at Fred Olsen Travel, told TTG the four Beales agents had been redeployed to Fred Olsen’s nearby Westbourne and Christchurch branches, while the agency’s long-term plan was to find a new high street store.
“We’ve offered the team positions to avoid any redundancies,” said Hardwick. “Everybody in travel knows you don’t want to lose good people.
“We spoke to the team to offer them reassurance and we’ve basically offered them positions in nearby branches to avoid any redundancy situations.
"Plan B gives us time to look for a permanent location somewhere else."
Fred Olsen’s store within Beales was due to close on Sunday (1 March) ahead of the planned closure of the entire department store in the next few weeks.
“It’s disappointing, as we had been there for three-and-a-half years – department stores work really well for us, as they’re good spaces and get a lot of footfall,” added Hardwick. “This is completely outside our control.”
All four staff have retained their job titles and Fred Olsen Travel has also arranged a weekly “pop-up” agency in a cafe close to the Beales store every Friday to serve existing clients.
“The pop-up will allow staff to manage enquiries and bookings for those who can’t travel to our other branches,” said Hardwick.
“It also allows the staff to come together as a team every week. We’re putting together a marketing plan to retain the business and reassure customers their bookings are secure.”
A screen outside the Beales shop is being used to give clients information about the changes.
Fred Olsen also operates agencies from other department stores, including Jarrolds in Norwich and Coes in Ipswich.
