Virgin Holidays has opened its first standalone high street outlet, which it expects to be profitable within six months.
The flagship store, on High Street Kensington in central London, is an 1,800sq ft “holiday emporium” split over two floors.
It will house three of Virgin’s travel operators: Virgin Holidays, Virgin Holidays Cruises and Virgin Holidays+HIP Hotels.
The new store adds to Virgin Holidays’ portfolio of 100 concession outlets in Debenhams, House of Fraser, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, as well as several temporary “pop-up” shops throughout the country.
Speaking at the opening, Amanda Wills, Virgin Holidays Managing Director, said: “This is a very exciting day for Virgin Holidays.
“Our concession outlets have been very successful and the experiments we’ve conducted with ‘pop up’ standalone shops this year meant it was a natural evolution to do something more permanent.”
The flagship store features a lounge-style layout, with a games area for children; an “Experience Area”, where customers can view details of holiday packages via a large video wall; and in-store iPads to allow customers browse digital brochures.
“Our customers tell us that buying their holiday forms an integral part of the whole holiday experience and they love to do it face to face. It’s a big investment, both financially and emotionally, and they want it to feel special,” Mrs Willis added.
“We think the place where they make that purchase, and the people they make it with, should contribute to that excitement, inspiring their choices and instilling a sense of anticipation about the holiday they will take with us.”
The opening of the new Virgin Holidays store comes as it was announced recently that struggling tour operator Thomas Cook would be doing the opposite and closing many of its high street branches.
Thomas Cook, which has seen profits tumble this year, announced the closure as part of several streamlining measures to bring the company back into profit. Flights and holidays with the company have not been affected.
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