Bargain-hungry Britons boost London Designer Outlet Christmas figures

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 5, 2017

Footfall continues to decline across UK shopping centres, but the London Designer Outlet in Wembley Park seems to have found the formula for retail success, announcing a 4.5% increase in footfall over the Christmas trading period.

The fashion and lifestyle outlet centre said it has outperformed other shopping centres and retail destinations thanks to its reduced prices, as well as its strong food and beverage and leisure offer.

With consumers eager to snap up a bargain from well-known brands, footfall rose a massive 32.8% during the second day of the post-Christmas sales.

Total revenue that day rose an impressive 43.1%, and total trading across the eight-day period rose by 17.5%.

The performance improvement continued into the following week, with like-for-like sales for the days after Christmas Day and until 31 December up 40.6% year-on-year.  This meant a 20.4% increase in sales revenue on a like-for-like basis, and the figure excludes stores that opened during 2016 such as Hamleys, Lee Wrangler and Jack Wills.

LDO centre manager Sue Shepherd said many retailers achieved their best week ever since opening at LDO, including M&S, Levi's, The North Face, Guess and Next.

“At LDO, we have a 'Sale on top of a Sale' sale from Boxing Day and through January. We offer reduced prices throughout the year but during the sale period these savings increase, with up to 80% off RRP but still with the same quality products and excellent customer service,” she said.

The positive results are set against a backdrop of significant national decline in terms of retail footfall. According to retail analyst Springboard, shopping centre footfall across the UK fell by 49.5%, YoY on New Year's Day.

Meanwhile, the North London outlet centre expects footfall for the year to be 7m, of which 51% are ABC1 and 84% are under 50 years old. 

Since its opening in 2013, London Designer Outlet has consistently outperformed industry average footfall and trading figures. In the three calendar years since opening, LDO has increased footfall by almost 1m extra visitors each year, and was ranked in the top 10 best performing outlet centres in Europe and second in the UK in both 2015 and 2016.

The 265,000 sq ft shopping destination houses 70 outlets stores, restaurants and bars, as well as a nine-screen Cinemaworld and a large children’s play park. The retail mix includes aspirational brands such as Nike, Kurt Geiger, Superdry, Guess, Ernest Jones, Gap, H&M, M&S and The North Face, with price reductions of 30-70%.