Straiton Retail Park, owned and managed by the Peel Group, has reported an 11.6 % increase in footfall during the opening week of Scotland’s largest Next store.
With eighty thousand square feet of floorspace, the store, which opened its doors on 25 July, is not only the largest to open in Scotland but also one of the largest in the UK.
The week-on-week footfall for the store’s opening week at the retail park was up by 11.6%, with the opening weekend (Saturday 30 and Sunday 31) seeing an increase of 15% footfall combined. The new store signifies the third expansion for Next at Straiton Retail Park, with Peel and Next working collaboratively in delivering each phase of development and growth.
Mark Whittaker, Group Property Director at Peel Land and Property, said: “These strong early footfall statistics are further evidence of the growing demand for out-of-town retailing and this new flagship Next store is perfectly placed to capitalise on that. The success is testament to the rapid progression at Straiton, which was recently ranked a Top 20 UK Retail Park by Property Week, the added attraction of the Next product offering has further widened the appeal of the park, already attracting in excess of 6 million visitors per annum.”
The new flagship store has created 110 jobs for the local area and offers customers an extensive product range of womenswear, menswear, home and children’s clothing, plus a click and collect service. A newly created second floor within the existing unit has doubled its size, allowing not only Next to open in the space but also Costa Coffee and stationer Paperchase. The jeweller, Beaverbrooks has also opened its first ever UK concession within the store.
Dominic O’Rourke, Group Property Director for Next, said: “We’re committed to giving all of our customers the best shopping experience that we can offer and this new store will bring the very best of our offering to Scotland. It’s also the first Next store to have a Costa, a Beaverbrooks and a Paperchase concession all under one roof. The fantastic opening week figures prove this is a store set for success.”
Next at Straiton Retail Park is open Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, Saturday 9am to 7:30pm and Sunday 9am to 7pm.
The opening of Next follows the additions of Outfit, Nike, Matalan, Sofaworks and Nandos to the ever strengthening retailer line up at Straiton.
Speaking on the ongoing success of Straiton Retail Park, Retail Asset & Development Manager at Peel, Kevin Keigher, added: “Benefiting from its strategic central position on the City of Edinburgh bypass, with retailers reporting exceptional like-for-like sales growth, we feel Straiton is perfectly placed to position itself firmly in the upper tier of the UK retail hierarchy, bringing significant economic benefits to the wider Edinburgh area. We will now continue the exceptional momentum we have generated and focus on bringing more exciting retail and leisure providers to the park, developing our unbuilt planning consent and delivering against our business plan.”