Northeast-based agency JLM Travel has opened its third branch, thanks to funding support from Hays Travel Independence Group.
The shop on Farringdon Road, Cullercoats, follows the opening of its shop in Whickham in January 2024, and the establishment of the Gateshead office in 2004.
Martyn Dean, director, said Cullercoats and Whickham are both quite affluent areas – and he hopes to develop a presence in the community, as the brand has done in Whickham, sponsoring teams and the village Christmas tree.
He contacted Harriet Thompson, head of Hays Travel IG, when he spotted the Cullercoats location was available in February.
“It was a reasonable rent…so we spoke to Harriet, who took it to the board and we got an almost instant decision,” he recalled.
“We went back to the estate agent to say: ‘Take it off the market’.
“It would have taken weeks if we’d gone to a bank.”
He remains upbeat about bricks-and-mortar locations, despite the US-Iran war breaking out shortly after securing the premises, previously a computer and phone repair shop.
The agency had begun as a telesales operation but, after Thomas Cook went bust in 2019, it lost 85% of its business, he said.
The team moved into offices opposite a shop that was to become a Tesco Express in February 2020 – just before the Covid lockdown in March 2020.
However, he said moving to the high street was “one of the best things we have done”.
“In telesales, we were spending hundreds and thousands of pounds on advertising but not getting enough return. Now most of our business is word of mouth,” he said.
“Shop windows work really well, our most popular Facebook posts are related to the windows.
“We have a lot of recommendations and high rate of repeat customers.”
He and partners Raj Aggarwal and Jannine Aggarwal will be working with the new team in the Cullercoats shop, and promoting the agency at local events such as a summer festival in June.
“The pub at the end of the road is becoming a Tesco Express, so we will have really good footfall,” he added.
He said the three locations have 14 staff, and there are five homeworkers, with three due to join soon.
“Some are doing it as a ‘side hustle’, such as one who works for the NHS, booking doctors and consultants to places such as the Philippines – not huge volumes but quality, top notch bookings,” he said.
And his confidence in retail means he is hoping to expand further and is looking for similar locations, perhaps in Northumberland, where he originally comes from.
He and Jannine attended the recent Hays Travel IG conference and they hope to capitalise further on the knowledge and contacts they gleaned about selling tours and cruises.
The conference also heard how Hays IG wants to help more members to expand with its funding support.
Thompson said: “Over the past three decades, the Hays Travel Independence Group has been committed to working in partnership for profit with our members by offering expert support.
“It is fantastic to see the JLM brand flourish in the northeast as the business prepares to open its newest branch in Cullercoats. This success story is a first-hand example of the growth that can be achieved as part of our consortium.”
