The shop in the Lincolnshire seaside town opened in 2017 with five staff and now has a team of 13. It entered the TTG Top 50 in 2022 and went on to claim top agency in the North East a year later.
Co-owner Andrew Earle told TTG: "It’s been a real success story, and a surprise – almost £9 million a year turnover. The original plan was around £3 million turnover and £60,000 net profit.”
When the opportunity arose to purchase the building in St Peter’s Avenue, Earle said it was an easy decision. "The landlord was of an age where she could sell it to us," he explained. "We’re not planning to move.”
The success spawned a second branch in nearby Brigg, which opened in 2021 and has also gone on to emulate its sister branch’s TTG Top 50 triumph after being named top agency in the North East earlier this year.
Earle paid tribute to co-owners Rebecca Wright and Julia Fairfield, who manage the stores. "Had I not been approached by Becky and Julia, I would not have opened. The success is really down to them."
Fairfield explained how Earle originally approached her to work at his agency, Andrew Earle’s Holidays, in Hull. “I said, ’I don’t want to go to Hull’, and told him to open a travel agency in Cleethorpes.
"Rebecca and I had talked about opening an agency so when Andrew rang, I said him my friend wanted to be involved."
Earle said there had been a gap in the market in the area. "The original opportunity in Cleethorpes was because there was only a Tui branch in town. That gave us an opportunity to promote every other supplier, including Jet2holidays."
The shop, Earle said, is a now among Jet2’s top sellers.
Earle recalled how the brand’s success came in stark contrast to its far from smooth early days. “We were part of Freedom Travel Group, so we had the Thomas Cook collapse and then Covid to deal with.”
He puts the shop’s success down in part to the team’s use of social media, with 31,000 Facebook and 10,000 Instagram followers. Its popular Tag the Bag campaign encourages clients to post photos while they’re on their holidays.
“We give away hessian bags with tickets and ask people to take it with them and post a picture," said Fairfield. "The Brigg store just had one from Mauritius with the clients underwater wearing masks.”
