Retail Report: Super Summer trade for The Trafford Centre

As the British Retail Consortium announced its new national retail figures this week, The Trafford Centre confirmed that it has enjoyed a bumper summer with record numbers of shoppers.

Visitor figures show that August was a record summer month for the Mancunian Centre, with footfall up by 13.5% on last year. This was preceded by a 9.3% rise in July, as compared to the same month last year. Gordon McKinnon, director of operations, said: “It’s been an extremely good summer for trade at The Trafford Centre. The number of people visiting has continued to increase throughout the year and we’re now 10% up on 2009 figures year-to-date. “Summer trading has no doubt been helped by this year’s trend for the “staycation” – with many people opting to holiday closer to home. This makes a visit to The Trafford Centre a good option for families looking for a full day’s leisure activity.” “We’re also clearly benefiting from significant continued investment in our stores, with new attractions like Legoland Discovery Centre and the Museum of Museums, coupled with a number of very attractive new store and restaurant openings in recent weeks. “This season has seen the opening of a new 8000sq ft Mamas & Papas flagship store, along with ladies fashion stores like Guess, Radley, Pandora and Lipsy. "Quirky" “Other stores, including Next, H+M and Bank, have also extended and refurbished their existing stores. On the food and drink side we’ve recently opened ChaoBaby, a stunning Thai restaurant from the Chaophraya group, whilst our second Barburitto unit opens today, closely followed by Gourmet Burger Kitchen. “In addition to all this, we’ve provided quirky attractions over the summer such as a 3D cinema, a Victorian carousel and bungee trampolines for our younger shoppers. And of course the famous Appy Feet store has made a splash with customers keen to have their feet massaged by hundreds of little nibble fish.”

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