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30 Virgin agents’ jobs under threat
Juliet Dennis
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk
A total of 30 Virgin Holidays full and part-time travel agent jobs are at risk as a result of planned closures by House of Fraser nationwide.
The agency confirmed six concessions inside House of Fraser will be forced to shut if a plan to close 32 of the 59 department stores goes ahead early next year. The Virgin concessions affected
are in Lincoln, Sutton Coldfield, Carlisle, Chichester, Leamington Spa and Worcester. Virgin said it hoped it would be
able to transfer staff to its Next concessions or other stores. A spokeswoman said: “We’re speaking with our staff in stores affected and are confident we will be able to offer alternative locations for our people in the event of store closures.” The House of Fraser closures,
which follow a number of high street failures in recent months, came as Virgin confirmed it would have 17 Next concessions by the end of September. It originally
announced plans for 20 by July. The first two Next concessions
have just opened, in Shoreham- by-Sea and Crawley. A further 15 ‘shop-in-shops’ will open across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. A concession opens at Next in Northampton this Friday. Other locations include Oxford Westgate, Kingston upon Thames, Banbury, Bournemouth, Southampton, Belfast, Bracknell, Camberley, Hatfield and York Vanguard Retail Park. They feature a green ‘living’ wall and a champagne bar, and some will have technology allowing customers to view trips. Design firm YourStudio is creating the concessions, extending a long- standing partnership with Virgin. Head of retail Dan Buckingham
•Kuoni has added Feherty Travel and TravelLab as agent partner
said: “We’re continually looking to diversify and expand our retail network – and Next is an obvious partner.”
stores, bringing the total to 12. Feherty is the first Kuoni partner in Northern Ireland. TravelLab’s new store in Macclesfield, Cheshire, will open in late summer.
Ed Sheeran wears the trust’s T-shirt and meets the couple’s families backstage
Sheeran supports Chloe & Liam trust
Juliet Dennis
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk
Public interest in the trust set up in memory of Westoe Travel agent Chloe Rutherford and boyfriend Liam Curry has soared since singer Ed Sheeran showed his support in front of 50,000 fans.
The singer-songwriter publicly
backed the Chloe & Liam Together Forever Trust at his concert at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park stadium last Sunday. He wore the trust’s T-shirt and wristband on stage and met the couple’s families backstage beforehand. Chloe, 17, an apprentice at the South Shields travel agency, and Liam, 19, were among 22 killed in the bomb attack at the Manchester Arena in May last year. The trust was set up by their
families to help other young people achieve their goals and fulfil their potential. It has already raised more than £100,000. Westoe Travel owner Graeme
Virgin Holidays‘ new- look concession store
Brett, who is also trust treasurer, said: “There has been massive interest since the concert. Ed Sheeran fans are sharing
“It’s amazing someone so busy can take time to make a difference to other people’s lives”
details about the trust and there has been a massive increase in people asking about fundraising and about the grants available. It is too early to be able to identify any additional donations.” Sheeran has strong links with
the area and is friends with comedian and trust patron Chris Ramsey. His song Perfect was one of the couple’s favourites and was played at their funeral. Brett said it meant so much to
the family and the trust to have the support of such a well-known singer-songwriter to raise awareness and funds for other young people. He said: “It is amazing someone
so famous and so busy can take the time to make a difference to other people’s lives. Ed invited the parents to meet him as he was aware how much his music and his song Perfect meant to the families.”
14 June 2018
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