Announcement, December 2019
Announcement, December 2019
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We often write about how retail destinations are changing and we understand that you may not get the opportunity to visit your nearest centre yourselves.
So we thought we’d take this opportunity to describe some of the opportunities that are available now at two of our destinations which have been transformed recently through refurbishment and extension; intu Lakeside and intu Watford.
Both centres attract large annual footfall figures; Lakeside draws 20m annual visitors from around the South East and Watford attracts 14m visitors from the local town, from all across the Home Counties and from the nearby London boroughs. And both have seen multi-million pound redevelopments recently; Lakeside has seen a redevelopment worth £72m transforming it into a ‘retail resort’ predicted to attract an additional 2m in footfall each year and a £10m makeover ahead of the leisure extension launch. Last year, Watford saw the launch of a £180m retail and leisure extension and benefitted from a £13m refurbishment programme.
These are huge sums of money but what do they mean for visitors to Lakeside and Watford? As a result of this investment, both destinations have more to offer customers wanting a family day out. As Martin Breeden, development director for into, says: “This is all about creating locations that are not just about retail or leisure, but where people can come and have a big day out.” Greater variety in retail, food and leisure opportunities means that people are more likely to stay longer at a destination and spend more.
At Watford, visitors now enjoy 13 more stores, 11 new restaurants, and can visit three new leisure operators and the centre has seen a 19% year on year increase in footfall. And at Lakeside, visitors can enjoy Puttshack’s second UK location, one of Hollywood Bowl’s biggest venues and a new installation from trampoline park operator, Flipout.
The closer alignment of the environment with consumers’ needs can only mean greater opportunity for brands looking to reach large, engaged audiences in this space.
01 / January / 1970
01 / January / 1970
01 / January / 1970
01 / January / 1970
01 / January / 1970