The appeal of discounted prices, wide choice and plenty of safety measures have drawn confident customers back to London Designer Outlet, the capital’s leading fashion and lifestyle outlet centre, as it reopened at 10am for the first time since 23 March.
Reflecting the Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s wish that “People should shop, and shop with confidence”, the Wembley Park outlet centre is reopening after weeks of detailed planning. The largely outdoor centre, plus the open spaces of the surrounding Wembley Park, create a reassuring environment with additions, such as regular hand sanitiser stations, creating a busy but safe area for visitors.
The 265,000 sq. ft outlet centre is managed by Realm, the UK’s specialist outlet operator, and is part of Quintain’s Wembley Park transformation, one of the largest and most all-embracing urban developments currently underway in Europe. Over 70 per cent of the centre’s retailers opened at 10am on Monday 15 June including Nike, Levi’s, Puma and Adidas.
To help with the journey to and from the 85-acre Wembley Park, three hours of free parking has been provided. DropIt, the popular, app-based, store-to-door delivery service that allows hand-free shopping and deliveries, often on the same day, will be free to anywhere in mainland UK from 22 June until the end of July.
Sue Shepherd, Realm’s General Manager for London Designer Outlet, said: “It’s been hugely rewarding to see such enthusiasm from our guests. Many have said ‘We’re really please you’re open’ and it’s great to see so many smiles and to receive lots of compliments about our health and safety preparation work. Being an outlet centre, customers can’t shop our brand mix at these prices online, but we have taken every precaution to ensure our guests and everyone who works here feels safe in and around the stores. We’ve worked hard to keep within all the Government guidelines, while adding plenty of our own local initiatives.”
At London Designer Outlet, Quintain and Realm have worked with every tenant to agree individual plans and procedures. There is clear signage around the centre to encourage social distancing, indicate dedicated entrances and exits, plus one-way staircases to avoiding people passing on the stairs. Additional Guest Services staff are on hand in ‘Here to Help’ t-shirts and queue lengths outside stores has been limited to avoid any crowding. Intensified cleaning routines will be in place during opening hours as well as night-time deep cleaning.
