Icon Outlet outperforms as post-lockdown sales and footfall rise

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 24, 2020

UK retail seems to be recovering in a very uneven way with some destination types (such as retail parks) recovering faster than others and local high streets faring better than city centres.

And it seems that outlet centres are also enjoying a faster recovery than other parts of retail with a number of reports from outlet operators in recent weeks to that effect.

On Thursday, we heard more evidence with news that Icon Outlet at The O2 in Greenwich, London, has been outperforming much of UK retail. Its performance figures for the 12-week period post-lockdown have seen sales increasing by 30% between the first week and the 12th. 

Sales have trended from around 65% of previous year like-for-like turnover at reopening to around 95% in weeks 11 to 12. Weekly footfall has also doubled since reopening and now stands at 75% of prior year footfall. The latter compares to an average footfall of 59% of pre-Covid levels for the average London high street, according to Springboard.

The mall also reported “a bumper” August Bank Holiday, with like-for-like sales growing by 13% year-on-year. 

The product mix at the location has been evolving post-lockdown, with international brand Tommy Hilfiger Kids joining in recent weeks. In addition, the company said the recent opening of Haidilao Hot Pot is attracting a new domestic Chinese customer.