Hundreds of shoppers patiently waited for the doors of a brand new 7,000-square-foot M&S Outlet store to open at Atlantic Village in England recently. The Mayor of Bideford, Councillor Caroline Church, did the honors for what M&S management hailed as one of its best-ever store launches, with targets reportedly exceeded by more than 100 percent in the first weekend.
The M&S Outlet store opening comes on the heels of other successful launches that have included Asda and Past Times in 2008, and Yeomans Outdoor this past March.
“We’re bucking the trend with these exciting new store openings and helping to keep shopping local, which is important to our region,” said Jane McLeod, center manager.
“Our [traffic] figures have risen 33 percent year-on-year to date.”
Atlantic Village believes the key to its success has been to work diligently on signing a few marquee retailers to encourage other businesses to set up at the center.
“On the back of M&S Outlet, we already have a number of new big-name retailers looking seriously at coming to Atlantic Village. Unlike many other shopping centers, we are in a very healthy position,” noted Andrew Pegg, managing director of Wessex Investors Ltd., the asset management company working on behalf of Atlantic Village owner, Development Securities Plc.
Pegg said that, instead of cutting back, the company is investing heavily in site redevelopment. As well, in order to meet demand, Atlantic Village is creating new parking spaces to add to the 670 stalls it already has.
Dropping In On Shoppers
