Springfields Outlet achieves 15 years of consecutive turnover growth and continues to buck national trends

Christmas trading results from Springfields Outlet in Lincolnshire once again demonstrate its resilience as the leading shopping and leisure destination in the East of England having achieved 15 years of consecutive turnover growth.

When comparing the Christmas school holidays, from 19th December 2019 to 5th January 2020 inclusive, with the same school holiday period in 2018 total revenue increased by +2% year-on-year. Within this period, the most successful week achieved a +12% YoY uplift in total revenue. The destination also enjoyed its busiest Boxing Day sale launch ever with 40% of LFL retailers reporting double digit increases.

Across the calendar year of 2019 the scheme delivered a total revenue increase of +2% YoY, with footfall increasing by the same amount. This follows a record-breaking Black Friday week in which the centre achieved its highest ever weekly take; with individual retailers trading up to +51% on a life-for-like basis. The positive results are in stark contrast to the most recent industry stats which show that footfall declined by -4% in the post-Christmas sales, according to Springboard.

The retail results were boosted by a regular and varied programme of seasonal consumer activities including Wonderland Walk, a free immersive light experience set in the onsite Festival Gardens, a Christmas Grotto, and an ongoing VIP Programme and app with exclusive offers and competitions.

Ian Sanderson, Director at SLR which developed and asset manages the scheme, said: “We’re proud to have achieved 15 years of consecutive turnover growth, especially within the existing retail climate. Our integrated leisure offer has helped to really support our positioning as a destination. This has been supported further by the array of family-friendly seasonal activities over the past six weeks and further technical developments of our Springfields VIP app. All of which has helped us to stand-out as the destination of choice for the location catchment and provide a memorable Christmas experience that has been reflected in the strong footfall and trading stats.”

Owned by the Triton Property Fund and managed by UBS, Springfields Outlet is a 200,000 sq ft scheme with 25 acres of leisure attractions set within beautiful award-winning landscaped gardens. According to research by Savills, schemes need to offer something more than price point alone, with browsing and leisure elements key drivers for the overall experience. Indeed, some 33.6% of shoppers consider leisure facilities to be more important at outlet centres than other shopping locations, according to Global Data. Home to well-known outlet retail brands such as Crew Clothing, Joules, Gap, TM Lewin, Radley, The Cosmetics Company Store, Skechers and M&S, the line-up is complemented by an integrated leisure offer Adventure Land, which includes the UK’s largest JCB Young Drivers Zone, and line-up of cafés and casual dining restaurants.

The scheme has a series of exciting expansion plans over the next few years, which will further enhance the customer offer and experience, and attract a more affluent customer. Planning allocation of space and change of use has been agreed for a 50,000 sq ft extension. The £18m investment will finance up to 19 new retail and casual dining units.

Agents for Springfields Outlet are SPACE Retail Property Consultants and Knight Frank.