Worcester shops welcome busier start to year’s trading (From Worcester News)

Worcester shops welcome busier start to year’s trading

4:20pm Monday 6th February 2012 in Local By Sarah Davies

BARGAIN hunters have seemingly been out in force in Worcester, resulting in some traders reporting a positive start to 2012.

So good, in fact, that some closure-threatened stores look like they might pull through after all.

Shoppers visited the Faithful City in their droves during January.

Erica Burlace, manager of CrownGate Shopping Centre, said footfall figures were up by thousands compared with the same time last year.

She said economic pressures had resulted in more people choosing to shop locally over travelling to out-of-town retail parks and that traders were working harder to attract customers.

Ms Burlace said: “January footfall has been strong for CrownGate, continuing to outperform national benchmarks.

“For both weeks commencing January 15 and 22, we saw an overall weekly footfall rise in excess of six per cent on the same period in 2011.

“Saturdays have been particularly strong days with Saturday, January 21 and 28 up seven and eight per cent respectively – this translates to an extra 8,000 shoppers in total. This is especially impressive against the backdrop of traditional January spending patterns – normally a long month as many shoppers are paid earlier in December and have to stretch their pay for around six weeks, plus it’s the time the Christmas bills start to bite.”

John Kendrick, manager at Cathedral Plaza, said his shopping centre had also had a good start to 2012.

“I think in December, particularly, the last two weeks were a little better than we had expected,” he said.

“The first three weeks of January were not as bad as we had expected. It’s a reasonable start, but we’re all very cautious. It’s going to be a difficult year ahead.”

Nationally, experts had warned the Christmas shopping boom would not be enough to save some high street stores.

Seven staff were made redundant from the toy chain Hawkins Bazaar in CrownGate, Worcester, when it closed all but eight of nearly 50 UK stores days before Christmas.

Six members of staff lost their jobs when lingerie chain La Senza shut its Worcester and Evesham branches after the firm fell into administration, seeing the immediate closure of about 80 stores countrywide. About 60 branches were sold to the Alshaya Group.

However, other struggling retailers appear to have started 2012 on a stronger footing.

A spokesman for KPMG, the administrator for Peacocks clothing chain, said its Worcestershire stores – which employ more than 60 people – were continuing to trade and there had been more than 100 conversations with potential buyers of the firm.

Worcester’s HMV store is believed to be trading well, having had an above average level of sales in December and a good Christmas. It is understood there are no plans to close it.

And KPMG is continuing to talk to “interested parties” in a bid to find new owners for 51 remaining Past Times stores, including one in High Street, Worcester, with eight members of staff.

It remains unclear what the future holds for clothing retailer Bonmarche, sold by the parent company of Peacocks to Sun European Partners, and outdoor leisure stores Blacks and Millets, now owned by JD Sports.