Independent travel agency The Midcounties Co-op Travel is to open a branch in Shrewsbury, its first in the town, creating up to eight jobs.
The new branch in Pride Hill will open on Saturday 22 September and will also be its first retail outlet to be branded as cooptravel.co.uk.
The business is part of community retailer The Midcounties Co-operative, which has a significant presence in Shrewsbury with its food stores and post offices. In addition to a network of 51 travel branches, Midcounties runs an online travel business which has given the new branch its name.
Sue Reid, Group General Manager, Travel Distribution, at Midcounties said: “We already have a strong membership and customer base in Shrewsbury. We saw the opportunity to bring our travel business here and we are delighted to be investing in the town so we can extend our offer to the local community.
“We are locally owned and independent. Our aim is to become the leading independent travel retailer in the UK, with co-operative values at its core.
“Opening in Shrewsbury in this the international Year of Co-operatives is an important part of our expansion strategy.
“We have an experienced and knowledgeable team in the branch which will be managed by Wendy Hudson, who is from Shrewsbury.
“Shrewsbury has a vibrant town centre and is proud of its variety of independent retailers. We are confident our business will be welcomed and provide more choice for local people.”
Midcounties has embarked on a strategy of rapid growth. Its plans include opening travel branches around East Midlands Airport and building on links with Birmingham and Bristol Airports.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The Midcounties Co-operative has its headquarters in Warwickshire, with trading outlets in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Shropshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and the surrounding counties.
The Society’s trading groups are food retail, funeral, travel, pharmacy, childcare nurseries, employee benefits and energy. The Midcounties Co-operative is the largest independent co-operative society in the UK and has more than 470 branches, and 245,000 active trading members. It is in The Sunday Times Best 25 Big Companies To Work For list for the second year running.
The Society's mission statement is 'To be a successful consumer co-operative working towards creating a better, fairer world, and to enhance the lives of our colleagues, members, customers, and the communities we serve'.
For more details call Lorna Bishop at Seal on 0121 616 5800. Visit www.midcounties.coop
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives, highlighting the contribution of co-operatives to socio-economic development, particularly their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration. The Year will highlight the strengths of the co-operative business model as an alternative means of doing business and furthering socio-economic development.
About Co-operative Travel
Co-operative Travel offer a variety of holidays, flights and hotels. They are providers of low cost ski holidays, cheap package holidays and all inclusive holiday deals.
