Sandals Stresses Commitment to Trade with First Store in London

Sandals opened its first high street shop in London last week, while underlining that agents remain “the backbone” of the business.

Chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart said the operator’s retail store – a world-first for the company – had “been designed to help the travel agent do a lot more business”.

“We can’t get every single travel agent out to the Caribbean, but we intend to bring as many here as possible, to educate them,” he said. “Travel agents are our backbone,” he added.

The new store, on Fulham Road in South Kensington, is divided into zones for Sandals, Beaches, weddings and Island Routes tours, and includes a water feature, Xboxes and a bar serving Sandals’ Robert Mondavi wine. There is also a training room with video-conference technology which seats 14.

“I never dreamt in my wildest dreams that [the new store] would be as spectacular, as amazing at promoting the Caribbean,” said Stewart.

“I come in here and some of the photography brings me back home. It will represent the company very well, but will also represent the region extraordinarily well,” he added.

Head of sales Leah Marshall said the first group of agents was already booked in for an in-store training session in late April, and that she also intended to host meetings for regional sales managers.

“Hundreds of agents get to experience Sandals on fam trips and their own holidays each year but it’s still not enough,” she said.

“There are still some who don’t really get the concept. When we bring them to the store, they’ll be saying, ‘I didn’t realize Sandals looked like this’.”

The store should prove helpful in selling weddings, Marshall added, with a dining table where different themes can be demonstrated.

“We’ve increased our wedding coordinators from two to four, and it will be much easier for agents to bring their bridal clients in to help choose ribbons and flowers and so on face-to-face,” she explained.

Sandals’ managing director for the UK and Europe, Karl Thompson, said the store launch came at an exciting time for the brand, following two years of continuous growth in the UK.

“The Caribbean is still the most aspirational region in the world. By helping agents and customers understand what we are all about, with this store, we hope we can continue that growth,” he said.

Source: TTG