Your Co-op Travel eyes concessions Juliet Dennis


Your Co-op Travel is exploring opportunities with “one or two” non-travel retailers as it looks to grow its retail estate next year in partnership with other well-known brands. The discussions come as the


group reveals it will convert a further three branches to its new interactive and sustainable format early next year. Last week it officially launched its second branch with the new design in Lydney, Gloucestershire. Head of omnichannel


development Ellis Cain-Jones said the group was open to exploring new partnerships with companies in 2024. Cain-Jones would not reveal whether concessions in other


retailers were being considered – a move which would mirror that of travel brands such as Kuoni, which has outlets in John Lewis, and Virgin Holidays’ outlets in Next stores. Any new openings would be in the Midlands region that Co-op Travel, the travel retail division of The Midcounties Co-operative, already operates in, he said, and would be data-driven, depending on footfall. Cain-Jones said: “We are keen


to explore some of the less obvious opportunities. We are really keen to have partnerships and we are talking to one or two for 2024. Some may be well-known brands.” The group is already testing


out new formats for its existing 71-branch network. The newly


New cruise agency tops £2m in sales selling only MSC


Josie Klein


The owner of online travel agency Simply Cruises has celebrated topping £2 million in sales just three months after reaching the £1 million milestone. Chris Hughes founded the


agency with partner Sara Marshall in November 2022, and began taking sales in February. The company started by selling


just two ships – MSC Virtuosa and MSC Euribia – but this month


added the rest of the MSC Cruises fleet to the Simply Cruises website,


6 16 NOVEMBER 2023


increasing the number of bookable itineraries from 80 to more than 700. Hughes said he plans to partner


with more cruise operators in the coming months. “We hit £1 million in sales in the


summer shortly before we launched a future booking campaign which saw us sell a lot of summer 2024 and 2025 itineraries, particularly to families, which helped us reach that £2 million milestone,” he said. “When we started the agency


we only offered ex-UK sailings, but we’ve now started offering fly-cruises, which is a great addition for us, and


We are keen to have


[retail] partnerships and we are talking to one or two – some may be well-known brands


designed stores in Sutton Coldfield and Lydney – both in relocated locations within their towns – have travel ‘hubs’ with digital, interactive touchscreens, including maps, and highlight work with local charities. The Sutton Coldfield store is


reported to already be recording a “significant increase” in sales. Cain-Jones said: “We’ve already


had learnings from our Sutton Coldfield store. We know people are


loving that store and we’re looking forward to taking the things that work to three more shops. “We’re looking at augmented


reality. Depending on locations, we will test new things in other locations.” The aim is to create stores that


inspire clients of all ages and are “interactive, sustainable and modern”, according to Cain-Jones. “It’s about adapting stores and


making sure we have the right formats longer term,” he said. “Sustainability is at the heart of


it. We want really inspiring content, while embedding the things we do for community fundraising and talking about our sustainable projects.” He added he was confident the


new format and focus on sustainability would attract more young clients.


Chris Hughes


we’re only going to get bigger.” He added: “It has been a hugely


exciting year and it’s been great to have so many repeat customers, which shows we’re doing something right.” To account for the additional


workload, Hughes intends to take on at least two staff members to work in customer service roles by January. He also plans to develop new


software to provide customers with an online dashboard to see their future bookings on the Simply Cruises website, and to implement a new booking system. “We’ve got loads of stuff in


the pipeline and a lot to come in the next few months,” he said. “It’s our first wave season coming


up, which will be interesting, and I’m sure we’ll learn a lot. “I definitely think we’ll hit


£3 million by the end of wave. “Our next milestone will be when


we’re making £1 million each month, which I predict will be by the end of next year once we’ve launched our new booking system.” Hughes added: “We bucked


the trend by only selling one cruise line and, now we’ve got a great following, it’s time to grow.”


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