Thomas Cook chooses Belfast for next Discovery store
Thomas Cook has confirmed Belfast as the next location for its new store concept.
Opening before the end of this year, Thomas Cook’s new Belfast Discovery store will be located in Victoria Square.
The news was announced as the travel company prepares to officially opened a Discovery shop in Westfield Stratford City, London, the first of 25 due to open in the next three years.
Thomas Cook came up with the new concept after a review of all its shops across the UK to ensure that they are ‘positioned to best meet customers’ changing demands and behaviour’.
It is refocusing its 700-strong shop network into two key formats – Thomas Cook Discovery stores and Thomas Cook Neighbourhood stores.
Discovery Stores will be located in higher footfall areas including shopping centres and out of town retail parks, while Neighbourhood stores will be primarily in traditional high street locations.
The store in Westfield Stratford City will open on Wednesday and is the first Discovery store to open since Bluewater opened in 2014.
Discovery stores have a ‘fresh and more open design’ and will give customers the option to book appointments in advance at a time which suits them.
"We understand how much people value a well-earned holiday but equally how time pressured they can be when it comes to finding and booking one," said Kathryn Darbandi, director of retail and customer experience for Thomas Cook UK & Ireland.
"Alongside our trusted staff, who we know play an important role when choosing the right holiday, we hope that our newly designed Discovery stores will inspire and engage customers as well as cater to individual researching and booking preferences."
Led by store manager, Peter Ryan, the 16-strong team at Westfield Stratford City includes one of the business’ longest serving employees, George Duncan, who has worked for Thomas Cook for 46 years.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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