Rising sales see Derbyshire shopping mall buck national trend

Nationally, retailers have reported poor festive sales.

The British Retail Consortium said 2019 was the worst year for shops in a quarter of a decade, as sales fell 0.1 per cent, the first annual sales decline since 1995.

Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket, said sales fell slightly in the months that include the crucial Christmas period, although stronger takings in the weeks just before the festive period helped bolster performance.

Springboard, which analyses customer activity in stores, said Boxing Day, traditionally the biggest sales day of the year for many stores, had seen an 8.6 per cent drop in footfall, the largest since 2011.

Dianne Wehrle, Springboard insights director, suggested rainy weather, online shopping and increased Black Friday spending were possible reasons for the fall.

And a number of big names have vanished from our high streets in recent years due to the challenging economic climate, including chains such as Thomas Cook, BHS, Woolworths, Comet and Toys R Us, while stores such as Debenhams and HMV are closing branches.

However, McArthur Glen East Midlands Designer Outlet, South Normanton, reported a rise in sales year-on-year, as well as “the biggest day in the centre’s history” in the run-up to Christmas.

David Jackson, newly appointed manager of the centre, which opened in 1998, said: “Following the success of key retail opportunities – Black Friday, Christmas events and a healthy start to January 2020 – we have seen another growth in sales and footfall within the centre.

“The results reflect the centre’s dedication to offering customers a compelling destination for premium shopping at affordable prices.”

The centre said like-for-like sales for October-December were four per cent up on the same period for 2018, while sales in the ten days prior to Christmas were up seven per cent and sales in the ten days after Christmas were up three per cent.

A spokeswoman said: “Footfall over the 20 days of Christmas were up five per cent on last year, with about 250,000 guests visiting the centre

“The Saturday of Black Friday weekend, was the biggest day in the centre’s history.”