London Designer Outlet says shoppers "flock back"

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Apr 21, 2021

Numbers for the reopening of non-essential retail in England continue to look good. The latest come from the London Designer Outlet (LDO) where sales jumped 148% compared to June 2020’s reopening as “guests rediscovered the joy of shopping”.

Sales also surpassed Easter 2019 in a “promising sign of the post-pandemic future for retail”, it said Wednesday. It noted sales across the six trading days from 12-17 April, were up 1.5% compared to the seven trading days of Easter week that year.

And added attractions helped at the 70-unit open-air centre in Wembley Park, North London. It introduced live entertainment, colourful displays, and gave out clear face masks. Online visits also jumped 107% compared to the previous week as guests planned ahead for their visits, LDO noted.

The centre, which counts the likes of Kurt Geiger, Guess, Levi’s, Nike, Puma, Lindt, and M&S among its retail attractions, saw socially distanced queues form each day as visitors enjoyed discounts of up to 70%.

It also said the latest strong attraction was the newly upsized Adidas store, which has expanded its floor space by 63% to 10,550 sq ft, while bringing a new experiential offer ahead of the UEFA European Football Championship.

Sue Shepherd, LDO general manager, said: “One week back and it feels like we’ve never been gone. Our guests have returned… to fall back in love with the physical shopping experience”.

She added: “Our brand partners are doing an exceptional job in making our guests feel welcome and that is very clearly reflected in their sales. Having been locked-down for months, London Designer Outlet’s guests are certainly making up for it now”.