HAYS Travel has expanded into North Yorkshire by taking over Ryedale Travel, which has five shops in the area.
Ryedale Travel shops in Ripon, Pocklington, Pickering, Thirsk and Malton will be rebranded Hays Travel, taking the company’s retail estate to 42.
The move follows Hays’ acquisition of St Andrew’s Travel’s three shops in the Bolton area in December.
Jane Schumm, sales general manager at Hays Travel, said the deal was another example of the chain’s faith in the high street and more expansion was “in the pipeline”.
“We feel this is a natural progression from our North East branches and last year’s expansion into the North West of England. We now have a foot hold in North Yorkshire to anchor the major towns of York and Harrogate.
“We will re brand the shops, Hays Travel, as we believe our brand recognition reaches outside of the North East. The expansion will strengthen this recognition and bolster our street presence in an increased area.
“Ryedale is a strong local independent agent, operating in a high spend, long haul, luxury market; the kind of market that Hays Travel is keen to grow.”
She said “most” of Ryedale’s Travel staff would be transferring to Hays.
“These agents make up a fabulous team of experienced sellers with fantastic product knowledge and old fashioned values of exceptional customer care. I’m looking forward to them joining the Hays team.”
Click here to view original article by Chris Gray, TTG Live, Thursday 15th July, 2010
