Earle, who has run the business since 1993, told TTG how he and his team raced to turn the crisis into an opportunity after parts of East Yorkshire and Humberside were hit by several days of heavy rain in late-September.
"We had damage to the basement storage area and were reduced from six working desks to two,” he recalled. “We faced being closed for six weeks for the repairs.”
However, just two months later, the business has successfully relocated to a larger shop “literally 40 yards” from the agency’s previous home – one Earle believes will allow the business to more than double its sales over the coming years.
"We'd been in the same store since we opened in 1993,” Earle continued. “I've considered moving before, but I was comfortable where we were. Now I’m excited about the new shop – it’s five times the size, so that’s allowed us to be more creative. The old store was fine, but it was tiny in comparison.”
The premises was badly flooded in September (Credit: Andrew Earle)
The agency has used the extra space to install two VIP areas for customers, as well as a family booking area.
A new Let's Talk Travel space, meanwhile, has been set aside for tourist boards, tour operators and cruise lines to promote themselves to customers in-store. The agency plans to stream these events on Facebook Live to attract a wider audience.
"We have a double entrance very close to the main shopping centre in Hull,” Earle explained. “There are also four huge windows, which allow us to promote what we want.”
The agency’s existing customers got to experience the new store for themselves at a grand opening event held on Saturday (29 November). Earle said the agency had benefited from the local council “staggering” its rent payments over the coming years to make the move more affordable.
"It’s a new opportunity that came from what looked like a disaster,” said Earle. “I think the public will love it. It will also benefit our staff, and the other two [Andrew Earles] branches will benefit too.”
A big feature of the new shop is the Let's Talk Travel space for tourist boards, suppliers and cruise lines (Credit: Andrew Earle)
Earle revealed Andrew Earls Holidays sold more than £110 million worth of holidays from its original premises.
However, having made the move, Earle has ambitious plans for the shop, and is targeting an increase in annual sales from £4 million to £10 million within the next five years. “We’re working on achieving 22% growth every year for the next five years,” he said.
To help achieve this goal, Earle has recruited two new agents to increase the team to eight staff, not including himself.
Meanwhile, manager Gemma Russell, who has worked for the business for 31 years, has been promoted to director, while Earle’s 19-year-old daughter Jasmine is also part of the sales team.
"The space is very flexible so we can always change things,” Earle enthused. “Everybody can see the potential, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes. It’s only been nine weeks since we were flooded to opening the new shop.”
