McArthurGlens Designer Outlet West Midlands has been very popular since it opened in April. Photo: Gerardo Jaconelli
In the first 100 days since the £ 160 million shopping destination opened on April 12, which has nearly 200,000 square feet of retail space, it has attracted 850,000 people.
Center manager Mike Thomas said the footfall and customer spending in the center, which is home to top brands, has significantly exceeded the targets.
“We are pleased with the attendance. It was very encouraging,” he added.
Thomas, who has been involved in the project for two and a half years, said it is now intended to expand the Designer Outlet West Midlands in the second phase to add another 50 stores and increase on-site parking.
So far, 75 stores are trading in the center, which eventually opened when non-essential trading was allowed to resume on April 12th.
Construction work on the complex on Eastern Way near Lichfield Road began in 2017 and was originally scheduled to open in September last year, but this was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Thomas said 80 percent of the center is now rented, and another four to five stores are on their way to opening within the next six to eight weeks.
“We attract buyers from across the West Midlands. So far we’ve only advertised people within an hour of driving, but will soon expand this to 90 minutes.
“Our concern is still to keep people safe and although restrictions have been lifted we are cautious and Covid measures are still in place and we encourage people to wear masks in stores and malls,” he said.
He said the momentum of trade in the center is expected to increase further as the year progresses.
Customers queued to get in on the opening day
“We were busiest on the weekends and Mondays were also very good days. We expect to be busy during the school summer break.
“We source a large proportion of our customers from Birmingham and Lichfield, as well as Cannock itself and the surrounding cities, and we also get a lot from Wolverhampton and Walsall. We even have some from Derby and south of Birmingham. “Explained Mr. Thomas.
When the center first opened it was unable to run grocery stores inside, but when restrictions were lifted, business has grown and three more restaurants, including Wagamama, have since opened.
Mr. Thomas said that being able to eat, drink and shop there increased the “time spent there” at the center.
The Cannock Center is the seventh of the owner McArthurGlen’s designer outlets.
Since April 12, the average spend per visit by customers during their shopping spree in the six established UK centers has been nearly 25 percent above pre-pandemic levels.
At Cannock, spending is on par with all UK centers.
Customers have returned with a stronger purchase intent, spending nearly 15 percent more per in-store transaction in their stores – reflecting the need to catch up after physical retail destinations are closed
Traffic across the center is slowly recovering towards pre-pandemic 2019 numbers as customers still remain cautious.