According to the British Retail Consortium high street sales have increased by a meager 0.4% between April and June this year.
However on the railway the story is very different and sales are booming. Station retail sales have powered up by an amazing 6.4% over the same period. These figures were compiled from the results of retailers operating from over 500,000 sq ft of retail space in 520 units/shops at 16 of Britain’s biggest and busiest stations owned and operated by Network Rail.
Shops on stations benefit from a combined annual footfall of over a billion passenger journeys. Trading at both King’s Cross and Waterloo benefited from major investment schemes enabling new retail facilities to offer the public a wider choice of food and beverage, clothes and products. During this period retail sales also benefited from better weather.
Says Jonathan Crick, director of retail at Network Rail, ‘While growth on the high street remains relatively flat, retail in stations continues to grow dramatically. This set of retail results shows how the change in retail strategy combined with investment in new retail space has enhanced the whole station environment, contributing to a strong retail performance even in like-for-like comparisons. Even more so for overall sales.
‘Stations offer a vibrant and healthy trading environment and we are continuing to attract new brands to enhance the breadth of retail offered to passengers.’ All profit from Network Rail’s retail activity is re-invested in the railway.
