John Lewis Exeter and Independents create a festive buzz
Ever since it opened its doors, John Lewis has been abuzz with people coming from far across Devon to browse and shop. Kate Connock, branch manager, said: “Since we opened on Friday 12th October, we’ve continued to see customers come through the doors to see what John Lewis Exeter has to offer. As the festive season fast approaches, our Christmas shop has proved popular as shoppers get ready to decorate their homes and look for the perfect gift for loved ones. The fashion department has also continued to trade well and customers are really enjoying the new technology we introduced in the shop, particularly the in-store terminals to order products from our website.
“I’ve enjoyed meeting other local business owners over the past month and look forward to forging long-term relationships and working together to give local residents the best retail offer possible.”
And it seems that the John Lewis effect really is kicking in for other retailers and service providers in the area. Commenting on John Lewis' opening weekend, Michelle Hargreaves, Managing Director of Stagecoach South West said "We were confident that many people visiting John Lewis for the opening weekend would use our Park & Ride services to get there. This has been borne out by our passenger figures which, across the Friday and Saturday, showed over 40% more people using the services than the previous weekend. Not only that, but all of our other city services and routes coming from out of town were also extremely busy across both days."
Directly opposite John Lewis, Boots the Chemist may well have been concerned that the new beauty department opening so close to them would have a detrimental effect on sales, however according to Julia Jiang, Boots' store manager, the opening of John Lewis has been very positive for the store, seeing an increase in both footfall and sales: "There is a definite feel that customers are doing their Christmas shopping earlier this year. We think this positive affect will also be boosted by our Advantage Cardholder days, the first which was held on 15th and our next on 29th November."
But what of the independents? Well, enjoying an immediate positive effect has been the Real Food Store and Cafe on Paris Street. We spoke to resident baker Emma from Emma's Bakery about how they have been affected: "The opening of John Lewis has been really quite positive. We saw an immediate increase in footfall to the store as well as a boost in sales. The Cafe has also been much busier, helped by the fact that the Park & Ride bus stop is opposite the store."
The Real Food Store has even gone so far as to extend their opening hours because of the additional demand. It is now open from Monday to Saturday from 9.30am until 5pm and open every Thursday until 8pm for late night shopping in the run up to Christmas.
With over 900 nominations in the BBC Food and Farming awards in the Best Local Retailer category, The Real Food Store also finds itself sitting proudly in the final three, with the winner to be announced as part of the BBC Good Food Show at the Birmingham NEC on the 28th November. We wish them luck.
Other independents, however, have not seen much of a change to the status quo since John Lewis opened. The Exeter Daily spoke to Amanda Leach of Inside Out, an award-winning, independent, lifestyle store at 1 Bampfylde Lane. "It's difficult to say how we have been affected since the opening of John Lewis. We haven't seen any boost or dip in trade or footfall. This last six months has been very hard on independent retailers. We didn't have a great summer, as the Olympics kept people away, either watching it on television or in London/Weymouth. This is why we have taken matters into our own hands this Christmas with the launch of our Independent Shopping Crawl."
The Independent Shopping Crawl, which is being launched today (16th November) with the help of Ben Bradshaw, has been set up by Amanda and other independents in the city to help boost trade. The Exeter Independent Shopping Crawl is based on the model put forward by the Independent Retailers Month UK, to encourage shoppers to do their Christmas shopping in Independent shops and experience the unique and exciting products they offer as well as fabulous customer service. Shoppers will be given a leaflet showing them the local retailers who are taking part, along with a map so they can easily find them. The shoppers can get a tick, or stamp from the shop when they visit and on completion will be put into a prize draw where they can win some lovely goodies supplied by the shops. For more information visit http://exeterindies.westcountry.co/about/
With a good overall view, we asked City Centre Manager, John Harvey his impression of how things have been since John Lewis launched: "Before John Lewis opened it was hoped that its arrival on the High Street would draw additional people to the City and it has done that in significant numbers. Park & Ride figures were up 40% in the first weekend alone, footfall to the City is up and we hope those additional people coming in for John Lewis take the time to explore the rest of Exeter and see what this vibrant City has to offer… great independent stores, a fantastic range of chain stores, as well as a variety of excellent restaurants and cafes. However, it is important to keep the momentum up.
"For the last few years, people have been leaving their Christmas shopping later and later, hoping to pick up bargains. However, the arrival of John Lewis has seen them start shopping earlier this year and that is benefitting the whole of the City. The Christmas Market is coming next week, which will also help. And the Independent Shopping Crawl Map will be beneficial too.
"Despite fears that the opening of John Lewis would lead to gridlock with the extra traffic, that simply hasn't been the case. We are encouraging people to travel in on the Park & Ride system, but there are other public transport services and there are plenty of parking spaces in the City Centre [see below for car parks].
"The arrival of YO! Sushi is another vote of confidence in Exeter. Clearly Exeter is now the investment location of choice in the South West once retailers get beyond Bristol."
Princesshay 1 (pay on foot, 273 spaces, EX1 1QA) Princesshay 2 (pay and display, 117 spaces, EX1 1NN) Princesshay 3 (pay and display, 160 spaces, EX1 1TT) Summerland Gate (pay on foot, 293 spaces, EX1 2LB) Howell Road (pay and display, 322 spaces, EX4 4LZ) Triangle (pay and display, 288 spaces, EX1 2BL) Guildhall (pay on foot, 450 spaces, EX4 3HP) Mary Arches Street (pay on foot, 494 spaces, EX4 3AZ)
