Flagship store to enhance Kuoni’s high-end status

Kuoni, the holiday operator, is opening a flagship store on Kensington High Street in London in a move aimed at strengthening its luxury travel positioning.

The new-look shop has been planned by strategic design group 20/20 and aims to make the process of booking a holiday “more personal, comfortable and enjoyable”.

The store, which opens on April 3, will be the travel brand’s fourth in the UK. It will have a coffee lounge and wood-panelled booths.

Nick Hughes, managing director of Kuoni UK, says the company wants to offer “the best and most rewarding shopping experience on the high street”.

Mariann Wenckheim, director of 20/20, says the agency was hired to “develop new ways to engage with customers on the high street, raise brand awareness and deepen the customer’s connection with the brand.”

Earlier this year, Kuoni axed its product director and sales and marketing director roles as part of a major management restructure.

The Swiss-owned company has hired Joanna Edmunds and Manuel Mascarenhas, both formerly with Thomas Cook Signature, to head new divisions.

Edmunds will head up the new commercial division and will have responsibility for product, marketing and e-business. Mascarenhas will head a new sales arm.