Liverpool One is defying the downward trend in its first Christmas of trading, Barry Turnbull discovers

CHRISTMAS trading at Liverpool One has provided a beacon of light in the dark days of the credit crunch. Shoppers and browsers have continued to flock to the £1bn development, while high streets elsewhere suffered one of the toughest seasonal trading periods for many years.

Many leading stores have experienced a severe downturn, with retail analysts predicting there could be more big name casualties in the New Year to follow the likes of Woolworth’s and MFI.

It may be that Liverpool One’s continuing novelty factor has kept volumes up, but it may also have had an impact on other shopping destinations in the city.

In some cases, stores have been forced to start sales early to try and drag customers across the threshold.

In general, UK shopper numbers fell 8.7% over the weekend compared with the corresponding days last year.

Market researcher Experian said the figures represented a slight improvement on last weekend's performance and of the following five days which had been a negative trend of between minus 10%t and minus 15%.

“But the overall week's figures will probably be the most disappointing in the pre-Christmas weeks so far,” it said.

Experian noted that, as internet shopping for Christmas draws to a close, retailers may expect a last-minute rush of festive shoppers.

On Sunday, John Lewis, the employee-owned group seen as a barometer for the UK retail sector, said sales at its department stores were down 1.8% on a year ago in the week to December 20, a pick-up from the 4% decline in the previous week.

Donna Hewitt, marketing manager at Liverpool One, said: “Footfall increases in Liverpool One each week and retailers continue to ring the tills as they welcome upwards of 500,000 shoppers on a weekly basis, increasing the footfall in the city as a whole by 17% since Liverpool One opened.

“Last weekend we saw upwards of 250,000 shoppers through the streets. In the last month alone, footfall through our anchors John Lewis and Debenhams has risen 30% between the two stores.

“Most importantly, however, footfall in Liverpool One reflects the spend with many of our retailers continuing to buck the national trends.

“We felt positive about Christmas trading but are not complacent. Shoppers are being asked to spend the country out of financial difficulties and they are looking for incentives and advantages to help them do that.”

In the Business Improvement District, which covers 600 city centre retailers, footfall was 19.8% up on last year compared with a 6% fall nationally.

Spokesman Ged Gibbons said: “Liverpool has enjoyed a fantastic year with Capital of Culture and that confidence has carried over into the Christmas trading period.

“It’s not just Liverpool One that has been attractive to shoppers, Church Street has also had tremendous footfall.

“We know the credit crunch is here, but I think Liverpool has staved it off up to now. Going into next year will maybe tell us how strong we are likely to be. We need to work together and get two things right: product and price.”

In Bold Street, the shopping trend picked up over the weekend. Dick Mawdsley, manager of household fashions store Utility, said: “It had definitely been quieter and later than last year but the weekend turned out to be much more positive and we were busy on Saturday and Sunday which followed into Monday.

“I’d say business was a bit down on last year, which is what we were expecting in the current circumstances, but it has not been the bloodbath that people feared.

“The clothes fashion stores have to get rid of seasonal stock which is why there has been a lot of discounting in that sector.”

Department store John Lewis reported that sales were boosted by the fact that men were making a late dash for presents.

Sales surged in traditional items like fragrance and lingerie, said retail director Patrick Lewis although overall figures for the week to December 20 were 1.8% below last year.

Joe Morris, who runs the Home Bargains discount chain, said conditions had been challenging: “It is tough in the retail sector at the moment and in our part of the market you have had Woolworth’s selling off stock and many other people have also been discounting.

“Sales for us are ahead of last year but we are not complacent, the competition is getting harder and the customers are getting fussier.

“A lot of retailers have got their fingers crossed at the moment and are hoping the couple of extra days this week before Christmas might bring some cheer.” Jennina O’Neill, head of marketing at fashion mall Metquarter said: “Considering the very difficult circumstances at the moment, we are trading well, and the last week has seen customers out taking advantage of the late-night trade across the city.

“Next year is going to be tough; however, we feel we are prepared for this new market. We have high customer service standards together with an excellent retail mix which we believe stands us in good stead for the future.”

Land Securities, owners of Liverpool’s St John’s Centre, said footfall had been picking up. Manager Ian McGillivray said: “The weekend was good and Monday was exceptional with people queuing to get into the car park before 9am. We know how difficult it has been but for us it has not been a disaster by any means.

“However, the rest of the holiday period after Christmas is also important and has always been busy in previous years so we will be keeping a close eye on the situation.”

Elsewhere, Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, which has 145 stores at the site in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, predicted that sales were beating last year’s figures.

A spokesman said: “In the last few weeks, we have seen a double-digit increase in footfall of more than 10% compared to last year. Given that it is the largest outlet centre in the UK, that is a significant increase in customers.”

He said that, as last Saturday was one of the busiest for shopping, they expected to see around 35,000 people on that one day alone.

However, the High Street is bracing itself for bad news in January and beyond.

Nick Bubb, analyst at Pali International, said: “In January, retailers will start to lose money. The scale of the crisis will have an impact on consumer confidence and this has only just begun. There could be two more years of this.”

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