Resilient King's Lynn defies credit crunch

King’s Lynn town centre, together with Vancouver Quarter is proving to be one of Britain’s most resilient shopping towns, first quarter footfall figures have revealed an impressive 15.5% increase in shoppers highlighting that the town is bucking national retail trends.  

The footfall figures released by ATCM (Association of Town Centre Management) & Springboard*  show that to date the town has attracted on average an astonishing 15.5% more visitors than other towns per week from January – mid-March 2009 with some weeks seeing an increase of between 24 – 29.4%. These exceptional figures follow after a record amount of shoppers visited the town over the Christmas period (week leading up to Christmas footfall was up 22.6 %, week between Christmas and New Year up 24%) and ended the year with a 12.3% increase in footfall from the previous year (2007 – 2008) **   

These figures are even more impressive when compared to the ATCM ‘High Street Index’ figures*** (released in February 2009) which highlights the difficult economic conditions faced by many other towns and shopping centres’ throughout the UK. The national report shows an annual fall in footfall of 8% with a 10% decline in clothing sales and a 14% decline in sales of furniture and electrical appliances. These figures suggest that King’s Lynn is defying the national recession, attracting shoppers from far and wide.  

Town Centre Manager Alistair Cox comments “King’s Lynn is proving a very popular shopping destination in the present retail climate, whilst other towns and shopping centres’ report on the doom and gloom on the high street, King’s Lynn continues to attract shoppers in increasing numbers. We certainly have a lot to be proud of and fully intend to build upon our success”  

Vancouver Quarter Manager Brad Curcillo agrees adding “These figures are very impressive and prove what we have always known about King’s Lynn: that we have a fantastic retail offer”.

Furthermore in a recent comment West Norfolk Council Leader Nick Daubney stated “The message is clear – King’s Lynn is very much open for business. The majority of retailers and businesses in West Norfolk are performing exceptionally well despite the challenging economic climate. We remain very optimistic and believe the future remains bright for King’s Lynn”

 

                                                   

                                                

                                                      

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