How we got results driving the best year in ten for the Lancashire shopping centre.

Case Study

Freeport Fleetwood

 

The client

Freeport Fleetwood (now Affinity Lancashire) - an outlet shopping centre on the Fylde Coast. The centre was anchored at the time by M&S, Next and GAP along with over 40 other outlet brands. 

Testimonial

‘John is one of the most effective and innovative retail and property managers I have worked with. 

His ‘no stone unturned’ approach ensures he is able to quickly get under the skin of a shopping centre or retail business to understand what drives its performance and recognises the importance of developing a special relationship with retailers to the benefit of both the owner and the occupier.   He remains focussed on profit whilst also understanding the time and investment required to engage with stakeholders and drive footfall. 

He is a clear, confident and effective communicator at all levels and has the skills required to tackle any challenge he is faced with.

When John and Daisy worked together on Freeport Fleetwood we saw the true value in a close relationship between marketing and property management.

As a team they were able to draw out the essence of the brand and what customers wanted from the centre and reflect this in a clear plan that encompassed PR, social media, OOH marketing, leasing, asset management and stakeholder engagement. 

Their integrated approach delivered record footfall and turnover performance for the retailers, property manager and owner.’

Angus Fyfe

Commercial Operations Director, Realm.

Expectations

This was the first time we had worked together - John having just taken over the centre and Daisy’s agency being employed to deliver marketing, PR and social media - and we set ourselves some ambitious targets:

  • To understand the local customer and how to encourage them to visit more often.

  • To figure out why lapsed customers had stopped visiting and deliver a campaign to attract their attention again.

  • To extend the tourism season at the end of the Summer in order to maximise footfall and sales performance.

  • To grow sales performance to ensure that total turnover in our first year was greater than in any of the previous 10 years - driving rental income in the process.

  • To increase the level of positive press coverage and elevate the profile of the brand / centre. 

The challenge

  • Regular, local customer that was visiting anyway - the aim was to increase the frequency of visit from this group and also to attract new or lapsed customers from further afield.

  • Store line up was fairly static with a lack of newness.

  • Being located just 8 miles north of Blackpool, footfall at the centre was subject to massive seasonal fluctuation and also more affected by adverse weather than the average shopping centre - due to its outdoor, marina-side location. 

  • Almost all tenants were on turnover lease agreements so an absolute focus was needed from all parties to grow sales wherever possible.

 

Review and recommendation

We used all of this information to develop a new strategy for the centre with clear, deliverable actions and regular review points along the way.  

In order to encourage repeat visits we continued to develop the events strategy for the centre, ensuring that existing regular events continued but also adding in new and exciting ones to drive incremental business. 

Finally we developed a PR and awards strategy in order to celebrate our successes and to build momentum. 

The solution

Understanding the audience

We started by gathering as much information as we could about the current and potential customer - To ensure a fully rounded picture, we took this from a number of sources:

  • Social media analysis

  • Customer focus groups including lapsed customers

  • Store sales data

  • Footfall information

  • Tenant feedback

  • A brand values session

Redefining the experience

  • Total turnover was the highest out of the last 10 years - and we went on to improve on this again in the 11th year!

  • We won awards from Marketing Lancashire, and Radio Wave, as well as a Red Rose Award for Retail Business of the Year.

  • Annual footfall increased for 2 consecutive years.

  • Our time working together on the centre ended with it being fully let for the first time in 7 years with footfall up 6% on the previous year.

  • The leasing team delivered impressive new lettings to retailers including Sports Direct and The Body Shop. 

Delivering the plan

Using the brand values, we ensured a consistent tone of voice across all of our comms, building social media engagement and positive press coverage along the way.  

We included our retailers in absolutely everything we did - and we kept them regularly updated - encouraging them to take part and maximise the new opportunities at every available point. In addition, through a partnership with the local newspaper, we were able to highlight new season fashion on a quarterly basis. 

Working with an events partner, we delivered a huge, end-of-summer event called ‘Best of British’ which was designed to extend the period of elevated footfall beyond the end of the school holidays.