While retail in general may be a shadow of its former self, there are signs travel has turned a corner with a steady drip of new agency openings, not least from Tui.
Tui’s shops and network of more than 200 homeworking agents are overseen by head of retail Stephen Bracegirdle. In its various previous guises, Tui once numbered more than 1,000 high street agencies; that has now shrunk to around 330 in the UK and Ireland.
Nevertheless, Bracegirdle is upbeat. “We haven’t closed any shops in the past couple of years," he tells TTG. "This year we’ve opened six, which is really positive.
"We’re looking to grow our retail estate in the future. I don’t think it will be substantial numbers, but where we have opportunities to do so – we see ourselves as an integral part of Tui.
"That said, I remember when we had more than 600 stores," Bracegirdle concedes; the realities of modern retailing are far from lost on him. "We think as a number [330], we are there or thereabouts."
New premises mix traditional shops and larger edge- and out-of-town shopping centre or retail park stores, such as those in Leeds, which opened in May, Bournemouth (June) and Bradford (July).
“Our newest store is in Kingston upon Thames, our first in the London area for quite a while," Bracegirdle continues. "It’s average size, but we also opened in Bournemouth and Bishop Auckland on retail parks, so there’s no particular strategy of retail park or high street. It depends on the demographic and the footfall.
"We won’t be opening hundreds of stores in the next couple of years, but we will be making the most of opportunities. We’re working on a number of things around potential new shops. Some will be where we have been previously, some are brand new.”
In-store ’holiday experience’
Bracegirdle insists demand for a high street booking experience remains high despite customers researching their travel plans online.
"There is still a significant loyal retail following of people who always book with the same advisor in the same shop year after year," he says. "But there’s been growth in people going online prior to coming in.
"It’s a broad mix that also includes families and couples. A good percentage still book in store – during the pandemic, lots of customers had queries about testing, and that drove people towards retail. We’ve gained new customers from that because they’ve experienced the expertise."
A refurbishment programme is in progress, with some of the biggest stores in Glasgow, Newcastle and Cardiff already having been revamped. “We’re also refurbishing some of our older stores as well – it’s a good demonstration of our investment.”
Tui’s shop design hasn’t changed for some time, but there is some tweaking and tinkering under way. "What we are doing is making the shops feel more like a holiday experience rather than an estate agent experience," Bracegirdle explains.
"We have a mix of desks and booths with a screen on the wall and some amazing light boxes. They look a lot different from a few years ago.”
All about footfall
Elsewhere, a pre-pandemic concession partnership with Next continues. There are now more than 20 locations, the latest being Lowestoft, opened in May. “We continue to work with them where it’s the right location; we’re looking to grow the arrangement,” Bracegirdle says.
With the Tui name above the door, there are no surprises when it comes to what customers book. “The majority of what we sell is Tui beach and Marella Cruises – we do a massive volumes of Marella [through retail channels]."
Other operators are, of course, available, but only where Tui falls short, with the not in-house percentage "moving all the time". “If it’s a destination or a safari, multi-centre or tour we don’t do, then we use the relevant partner. We do very well with P&O Cruises, Cunard and a good amount of volume for Disneyland Paris.”
It’s all positive, but the future of the high street – and retail in general – remains precarious, despite welcome commitments by the new government, such as reforming business rates and creating "a level playing field between the high street and online giants".
So what about Tui’s next 10 years? “I would love us to be in a similar position,” Bracegirdle adds. “We will open a few more stores and continue to review. The high street is all about footfall; we’re constantly looking at ways to drive it. If we maintain our retail estate, that’ll be good."
