New retail results released today by Network Rail show that total retail sales at its managed stations grew by 5.3% between April and June 2017.
This compares to British Retail Consortium figures, which show average total sales growth of 2.8% in the wider retail sector over the same period.
This was the 21st consecutive quarter of sales growth across Network Rail managed stations with the strongest increases in stations that have seen significant recent investment.
Paddington (+40%), London Bridge (+15%) and King’s Cross (+14%) showed the highest growth in London, while outside of the capital Birmingham New Street (+13%) and Manchester Piccadilly (+7%) were the best performers.
Hamish Kiernan, commercial director of retail for Network Rail, said: “Today’s results show how our ongoing investment in stations is creating places that are destinations in their own right, where people choose to meet, eat, shop and travel. Stations like Paddington, King’s Cross and Birmingham New Street have been transformed in recent years and that transformation is leading to better passenger satisfaction and increased sales. Importantly, all profits from our retail activities are reinvested back into the railway.
“We are looking forward to continuing this trend with the full opening of London Bridge in 2018 as we create 92,000 sq ft of new retail space that will provide exceptional food, beverage, fashion, beauty and gift options.”
64m retail customers – equivalent to almost the entire population of the UK – visited station outlets during the quarter. Gifts and cards/stationery sales enjoyed sizeable increases of almost 53% and 11% respectively during the later-than-usual Easter period.
Clothing retailers also saw sales soar by 33%. Overall, £192.5m was spent at Network Rail stations over the three-month period, with like-for-like retail sales also up by 1.9% between April and June.
Ongoing and future investments in regeneration and retail include an upgrade of London Bridge and improvements at Euston station.
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