Gazette Business

Strong trading report for Festival Place

By Richard Garfield

12:57pm Friday 20th January 2012

BASINGSTOKE’S flagship shopping centre Festival Place has reported a strong trading performance in December in the crucial pre-Christmas trading period.

The shopping centre, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, saw an increase of 12.8 per cent in the footfall figures compared to the same period in 2010. December figures show visitor numbers rose to 1.9million compared to 1.7million in 2010.

Centre director Steven Connolly said Festival Place attracted more than 80,000 people, up 35 per cent on the same day last year.

Some of Festival Place’s fashion and food and drink retailers recorded double digit increases in sales.

Steven said: “Despite tough trading conditions for retailers, our centre fared particularly well this year with footfall figures for December significantly up on last year as well as increased expenditure.

“We also enjoyed an excellent performance on Boxing Day and in general in the post-Christmas sales.

“Our strong performance demonstrates the continued need for, and economic importance of, Festival Place in positioning Basingstoke as a major shopping destination in the south.”

Despite some gloom on the high street – Hawkin’s Bazaar and Past Times have closed their stores in Festival Place having gone into administration – Steven is optimistic for the shopping centre in 2012, which has more than 200 retail outlets, restaurants, cafes and a cinema.

He said: “We are committed to maintaining Festival Place as a place not only to shop but also to meet friends and relax – providing shoppers with an enjoyable experience during their entire visit.”

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