Investment pays off with more shoppers at centre
RETAIL footfall is bucking the national trend at Runcorn Shopping City following massive investment over the last seven years.
The centre has reported record occupancy levels of 94.6% and steadily rising shopper numbers over the last 12 months.
A spokeswoman for the centre said this followed an injection of more than £9m invested in schemes such as refurbishing its ageing exterior, free car parks and 25,000 sq ft of retail space.
Another factor is the strides Shopping City has taken to provide a more welcoming experience by recruiting a team of ‘customer service ambassadors’ and brightening up the decor.
Other initiatives include ‘The Box’, which Shopping City manager Karl Clawley introduced in 2016 to retail space for new businesses to try their hand in enterprise.
Former Manchester Arndale boss Karl has also brought in a review forum for independent stores to gather ideas on how to drive footfall.
The centre was also one of the first in the country to become autism friendly, introducing a ● weekly autism shopping hour where mall lights are dimmed, music switched off and hand driers shut down. A chill room was also created to provide a calm escape for children or adults.
The mall recently reverted to its original name also, after a spell as ‘Halton Lea’.
Its turnaround under the leadership of Mr Clawley followed a period of dire uncertainty for the centre after it went into receivership under previous owners, before it was bought by property investment firm F&C Reit, now BMO Real Estate Partners, in 2011 for £29.1m.
Mr Clawley said the combination of factors was driving footfall and occupancy levels.
He said: “For footfall to remain high despite country-wide declines, we understood the importance of creating a welcoming, social environment where people want to shop, go for lunch and meet friends, without putting unnecessary barriers in their way.
“When we speak to visitors, the general idea of the high street disappearing isn’t a welcome one.
“But people want a great experience when they go shopping, and we make it our job to support the independent retailers based here, so that they know how to provide exactly that.”
Discussing the idea behind the review forum, he said: “We set up an initiative that looks at various ways of promoting a ‘shop local, stay local’ mindset.
“Within that, we offer free analysis and suggestions surrounding merchandising, store layouts and window displays – it provides business owners with a second opinion, which has shown to boost footfall and sales for our retailers.”
Shopping City was built by Grosvenor in partnership with the Runcorn Development Corporation for £10m and officially opened by The Queen in 1972.