Major retail property giant Landsec has announced some new quarterly numbers and said that it outperformed the market in Q1 as consumers visited high-quality locations.
Bluewater
Its properties include Bluewater Kent, Trinity Leeds and Liverpool One, among many other big-name malls. And it saw “significant year-on-year increases in both sales and footfall” in the three months from April to June. This comes after Landsec experienced a record last financial year across its retail destinations.
It said the results “reflect the success of the company’s strategic approach to retail, prioritising top-performing centres and major retail destinations that offer something special to brands and shoppers alike”.
Total sales were up 8.1% across its major retail destinations (it didn’t give a monetary figure), while footfall was up 4.8% – substantially outperforming the BRC benchmark of 2.3% in sales and the MRI benchmark of 1% in footfall over the same period.
Retail outlet destinations performed particularly well, with sales up 11.2% and footfall up 8.4% as shoppers prioritised the experience of shopping in outdoor retail villages. The popular Braintree Village in Essex saw a 14.9% year-on-year boost in sales across the period.
And it added that the recent box office recovery has highlighted “growing consumer demand for shared, immersive experiences”. Within Landsec’s retail destinations, cinema sales surged by 38% year-on-year in Q1, nearly double the national increase of 20%.
While the jury is still out on the overall impact of the recent heatwave UK-wide (reports have suggested both a rush to stores and an unwillingness to shop), Landsec said the sunniest Q1 in recorded history encouraged shoppers to refresh their wardrobes and treat themselves to health and beauty products. Clothing sales rose by 15.7% year-on-year, with fragrance, health and beauty close behind at 15.5%.
This strong growth has also been driven by continued investment from brands. New store openings across its destinations have pushed overall occupancy to nearly 97%.
