Christmas cheer for LDO as off-price offer delivers another quarter of growth

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 4, 2018

London Designer Outlet enjoyed strong trading during the Christmas period, reporting a 7% increase in total revenue and an 11% uplift in spend per head compared to last year.

With 70 outlet stores from popular retail chain such as Guess, Nike, Gap, Converse, Dr Martens and M&S, the off-price shopping centre in Wembley is becoming a popular retail hub amid falling consumer spending.

For the period from Christmas Eve on Sunday 24 December to Saturday 30 December, like-for-like sales at the outlet centre increased by 5%, driven by the footwear category (up 35% on last year), homewares (up 21%), and health & beauty (up 19%).

“With money tight for most families, outlet shopping is now a mainstream way to secure aspirational and desirable brands at affordable prices,” said Sue Shepherd, Realm’s Centre Manager for LDO.

“Our strong trading figures show the continuing appeal of off-price shopping, resulting in an annual footfall of 7 million. This means twice as many people visit LDO each year than go to Wembley Stadium and The SSE Arena, combined.”

Tourist are also key for London Design Outlet, with tax-free sales rising 6% year-on-year during October and November. Chinese visitors, including those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, account for 23% of the centre’s non-EU visitors, and LDO has embraced its international appeal by adding fluent foreign language speakers to its guest relations team and launching Halal and vegetarian dining options in many restaurants and cafés.

London Designer Outlet enjoyed strong trading during the Christmas period, reporting a 7% increase in total revenue and an 11% uplift in spend per head compared to last year.