City sees huge rise in shoppers and tourists

Jun 15 2008 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

LIVERPOOL’S Albert Dock and the new John Lewis store have smashed visitor and sales expectations thanks to Liverpool One.

Since the huge retail development opened on May 29, the nearby Albert Dock complex of bars, restaurants, museums and galleries has welcomed an extra 100,000 visitors per week.

And the new flagship John Lewis store, in Paradise Street, has beaten its own sales expectations by an estimated 35%.

The dock has seen visitor numbers soar more than 46%, as the opening of Liverpool One makes it even more accessible to shoppers and tourists from the city centre, who can get there via Paradise Street for the first time in two years.

Last week alone, the Dock attracted more than 297,000 people – up almost 100,000 on its previous average for that week – and the complex’s managers say the opening of Grosvenor’s £1bn shopping complex and the nearby Echo Arena and BT Convention Centre has seen visitors pour in.

The blockbuster Gustav Klimt exhibition has also helped visitor numbers to Tate Liverpool soar. It welcomed over 42,000 people in the first week of June, compared to 90,000 in the whole of May. The Dock had been left cut off from the city centre when Liverpool One was being built, as many key access roads were closed. The Big Dig on the Strand left it even more isolated, making it still harder to reach and putting off visitors.

But visitors are now able to pour through Paradise Street again to get to the waterfront.

The Dock has reinvented itself as a leisure destination with a range of bars and restaurants, as it bids to att- ract delegates from the Arena and Convention Centre.

Albert Dock director Joe Edge said: “These footfall figures confirm that our strategy of continually investing in the Dock’s leisure and tourism offering is working well .

“Our continued investment does not end here. We intend to build on the Dock’s tourism infrastructure, enhancing the facilities that we have already invested in, including the Wayfinding Signage Scheme.”

John Lewis told the Daily Post last night that footfall at the 151,000 sq ft outlet at the heart of the new Liverpool One development had also well surpassed expectations.

It opened its new store on May 29 after trading for 100 years in Basnett Street.

As well as a surge in sales, the store says the number of appointments for its advice services were also well ahead of initial forecasts.

Fashion, furnishings and nursery, and the Clarins Beauty Spa, on the third floor, took a record number of appointments in the first week. There has also been “unprecedented” interest in kitchen planning appointments.

Liverpool John Lewis managing director Margaret Jacques said last night: “We’ve had a great start to sales in our new shop, and naturally we’re all really pleased. Customers have turned out in huge numbers over the last two weeks.

“In particular, we’re really pleased with the large number of new partners, many of whom have only been with us a couple of weeks, and additional members of staff from around the partnership who have come to help out, have all risen to the challenge and performed extremely well.”

Liverpool One’s chief executive, Joanne Jennings, said she was “delighted” to hear of the John Lewis trading figures and surge in visitors to the Albert Dock.

She added: “It is fantastic news that John Lewis has exceeded its key performance targets. This is testament to the whole Liverpool One experience.

“There is no doubt that the city is once again linked to the waterfront, allowing visitors to wander freely across Liverpool with minimal effort.”

OPINION: PAGE 6

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