Barrhead Travel makes move into supermarkets

Deputy Business Editor

Tuesday 4 September 2012

FAST expanding Barrhead Travel is hiring a further 75 staff as it gears up to open several mini-branches in supermarkets.

journey: Sharon Munro, chief executive of Barrhead Travel, is eyeing expansion for a firm that started with just four staff. Picture: Colin Mearns

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Greig Cameron Deputy Business Editor

Scotland's largest independent travel operator has already invested in 11 branches in the past 12 months – including its first base in England – at a time when many major industry players have been battling against weak consumer confidence and declining demand.

Barrhead said its growth was being fuelled by the variety of holidays it offers and flexible booking options for customers.Demand for trips to popular destinations such as Spain and the Balearic Islands has held up, while there has been an increase in interest in long-haul tours to the Far East, Australia, the United States of America, Canada and the United Arab Emirates.Later this month it is launching a concession at Sainsbury's in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, in what it hopes will be the first of many deals with supermarkets to further grow the Barrhead brand and geographic reach of the business.It plans to have three of the concessions open before the end of this year, with discussions on further sites, including some in England, understood to be taking place, with a further roll-out of the concept running into 2013.Sharon Munro, chief executive, said: "We are always looking at ways to make holiday booking simpler and more accessible for customers, and our supermarket concessions are the first of a number of joint ventures we are currently working on." As a result of the expansion, Barrhead is taking on a further 75 staff. Those include sales and call-centre positions across its locations in Scotland and Cumbria plus roles in e-commerce and marketing at its Glasgow headquarters. The latest recruitment drive, which will bring staff numbers to around 675, comes just two months after 50 school-leavers were hired as modern apprentices.Barrhead said it has a good level of online interest with around half of all enquiries for its holidays starting through the internet.The business operates website brands such as US-based Flightsdirect and niche ventures like Bargainshortbreaks.com.However, the remaining portion of bookings still come though more traditional methods of phone calls or customers visiting its retail branches.Almost a third of total business is now coming from England and the company operates a 100-seat call and travel centre in Barrow in Furness, Cumbria.Barrhead moved into that area when Cumbria Cruises closed down in April this year, and has plans to increase its physical presence in the north of England.Ms Munro added: "2012 has been a good year for the business, with substantial growth and new store openings creating a number of new sales and support roles across the country."The economic climate remains challenging for the travel industry, but our commitment to providing customers with choice, flexibility and best value has enabled us to continue with our ambitious growth strategy."Barrhead, founded in 1975 by Sharon's father Bill Munro with just four staff, has added stores in Edinburgh, Clydebank, Inverclyde, Ayr, East Kilbride, Cumbria and Leipzig, Germany in the past year.Turnover for total bookings was said to be £27.5 million in the first three months of the year, which was around 20% ahead of the same period in 2011.Some industry reports suggest events such as the 2010 ash cloud, which stranded many holidaymakers, and insolvencies in the airline and travel sector have led to an increase in interest in more traditional Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL) protected package holidays.

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Barrhead Travel makes move into supermarkets

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