Proudly celebrating its 25th anniversary this month, the Trafford Centre, is set to unveil new brands to entice shoppers before the end of the year, increased digital innovation and a sustainable edge to its retail offering.
Kicking off the celebration tonight, Friday (September 29), Trafford Centre has created a VIP event, ‘Endless Fashion’, with ‘90s pop headliners B*Witched leading the party. The event showcases fashion looks from across the decades and the future and is an opportunity to focus on what’s to come at Trafford Centre.
The shopping centre is now the largest outside of London and is aiming for pole position nationally. To achieve this, Trafford Centre is focusing on “” shopping by harnessing digital innovations like Pulse – which helps to maximise business performance and efficiency and collate essential retail habits data which will help to enhance the customer shopping experience.
A commitment to ESG is part of Trafford Centre’s future vision under its ‘For Our Future Programme’ launched in May, where it aims to become a positive environmental role model for other retail businesses. The initiative anticipates achieving Net Zero Carbon in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. In addition, as part of its Scope 3 pledges, Trafford Centre will collaborate with its tenant brands to support their carbon reduction initiatives.
Russell Loveland, director of UK asset management of Pradera Lateral – asset manager of Trafford Centre, said: “For us retail is all about the future and providing customers with the brands they want and a greater understanding of delivering a retail experience that is more tailored to them individually. We know that retail has become more omnichannel so that customers can effortlessly choose between digital and physical products and services. We have seen a double-digit sales growth across Trafford Centre’s brands during the past year, so we know that customers are enjoying coming into stores more, rather than shopping online. The centre is exciting and always evolving with many events, brand experiences and collaborations throughout the year. Our calendar of events offers pop-up stores and fashion events, which prove popular and help to draw in new audiences to generate elevated footfall.
“We are focused on what the customer wants, what they are buying, their spending habits and retail choices using software like Pulse which helps us to gain insight and address any targeting needs, promotions, or marketing. For some customers, we know that sustainability across brands and stores is an important factor and makes their shopping choices more purpose driven. We are fully committed to our ESG programme and will continue to drive this forward over the coming years.”
New Brands for 2023
With over 75 new lettings over the past 18 months, the centre remains a popular location for worldwide brands. This year has seen Bath & Body Works’ first UK standalone store arrive, a River Island relocation and huge upsize, a bigger Superdrug store and refurbishment. Store launches from Alexander Brown, Sunglasses Hut, L’Occitane and Molton Brown have also widened appeal for shoppers. Over this quarter of 2023 alone, Trafford Centre has launched a flagship Jack & Jones store, Lululemon, Mango, ProCook, LEGO store, Swatch and HOP.
Brands choosing to relocate to more prominent or larger premises within the centre, include Khaadi, EE, Marks and Spencer and Goldsmiths
Simon Layton, centre director at Trafford Centre, says: “We are constantly appealing to new brands, and as such, our recent store openings show the huge diversity of retailers that we have under one roof. We’re also proud of our dedicated events programme and leisure offerings including family friendly activities like bowling, competitive gaming, and a host of bespoke events like our popular Summer Daze outdoor extravaganza. These greatly appeal to visitors seeking more from their retail experience. Food and beverage remain a strong appeal in our sector too which boost dwell time and provide added pleasure and purpose for visitors. We are excited to see what the future holds for Trafford Centre and look forward to the next 25 years and beyond.”
