London Designer Outlet (LDO) at Wembley Park, the capital’s leading fashion and lifestyle outlet centre, has further maintained its consistent track record extending back to its opening in October 2013. LDO has now achieved 22 consecutive quarters of year-on-year growth and its overall growth remains ahead of results seen nationally across the retail sector.
For the months of June, July and August, total revenue grew by +9.2%, year-on-year, compared to the same three months in 2018. Like-for-like revenue, when newly opened stores such as Champion, Beauty Outlet and Havaianas are excluded, climbed by +4.8%, YoY. Additionally, footfall rose by +3.0%, YoY. The average visitor age is just 32, the youngest of any UK outlet, showing how well LDO’s meets the demands of next-generation shoppers.
In particular, footwear performed very strongly especially Converse, Skechers and Dr Martens. Total revenue for footwear increased +23%, YoY. Additionally, both sportswear and athleisure, plus the restaurants, bars and cafes at LDO, saw revenue growth of +10%, YoY.
Sue Shepherd, Realm’s General Manager of London Designer Outlet, said: “The summer months have been very busy at LDO, with guests travelling from near and far to enjoy aspirational and desirable brands at up to 70% off RRP throughout the year. We have benefited from Wembley Park’s own event programme such as International Busking Day, major concerts at Wembley Stadium from the Spice Girls to The Who, and the success of our Dropit initiative for hands-free shopping.”
LDO is still the only UK shopping centre to offer Dropit, the app-based, store-to-door delivery service. All purchases bought at any of LDO’s 50 stores can be gathered together and swiftly delivered to customers’ homes, hotels or workplaces at a time and date of their choosing, with same-day deliveries available within the M25.
Across the summer months, average spend per head was four times higher amongst Dropit users compared to other guests, highlighting the benefit to retailers of this initiative.
Hands-free shopping appeals to tourists, especially ‘shopcationers’ who shop on vacation and do not wish to be carrying shopping bags throughout their days. This summer, some 7% of LDO guests were international visitors. Of those from outside the EU, 17% were Chinese (including from Hong Kong and Taiwan) with increasing growth from the GCC (the Gulf Co-operation Council, which includes Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar). Across the three summer months, tax-free sales grew by +9.8% YoY, emphasising how tourists are seeing LDO as an important part of their trips to London.
LDO is a premium retail and leisure destination, with the appeal of major retail brands, a choice of popular restaurants and bars, the benefits of attractions in the surrounding Wembley Park, and the added bonus of serious, year-round discounts. Its premium fashion, athleisure, gifts and lifestyle names include Converse, Nike, Kurt Geiger, Superdry, Guess, Gap, Lee Wrangler, Lindt, Jack Wills, Clarks, M&S and Beauty Outlet.
This September also sees the launch of the 2019 courses in retail and hospitality at the LDO Skills Academy operated in partnership with the College of North West London and Brent Works. The aim is to train local unemployed job seekers in the necessary skills to work in the retail and hospitality industries, with every candidate who successfully completes the course guaranteed a job interview at LDO.
LDO is managed by Realm, the UK’s specialist outlet operator, and is part of Wembley Park, the £3bn transformation by Quintain adjacent to the world-famous National Stadium.
Wembley Park is set to attract over 20 million visitors per year and a £328 million annual retail spend, which is more than Camden, London Victoria and Ealing Broadway. Newly opened attractions include London’s largest Boxpark, Wembley Park Market with entrepreneurial merchants and makers and the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, soon to feature the National Theatre’s War Horse.
Wembley Park has a growing community of renters in lifestyle-focused apartments, under Quintain’s Tipi brand. The scheme is the largest build-to-rent single site development in the UK, with a full-time residential community of some 20,000 projected by 2027.
Minutes from central London, Wembley Park is easily reached by three Tube lines, two train lines, eight bus routes plus ample car parking at low cost.
