Westfield sees strong footfall for Eid in UK

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 29, 2017

Shopping centre giant Westfield said it has seen rising footfall year-on-year as the celebration of Eid al-Fitr – the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan – continues at the company’s properties.

The company said that increased visitor traffic has happened in part due to the strong luxury offerings in its malls and discounts from major brands such as Prada, Mulberry, Michael Kors, Belstaff, Whistles and Bentley.
 
Eid celebrations have regularly set off a retail surge at the company’s two sites (Westfield London in White City and Stratford City in East London) and the firm said it saw a 17.6% spending rise among Middle Eastern tourists at White City this time last year, plus a 12.6% increase at Stratford.

This year has been equally strong and the firm cited a footfall rise at a number of its tenants. They included Belstaff (up 36%), Whistles (20%), Prada (16%) Hugo Boss (47%) and Vilebrequin (32%). It also said sales of more expensive items (over £5.000) have increased at Prada while Bentley sold a £2,400 leather jacket and a £3,695 luxury handbag.

Chief Marketing Officer, Myf Ryan said: “From a retail perspective Ramadan marks an incredibly busy time, as Middle Eastern visitors come to spend the festive period in the capital, as well as the London Muslim communities we welcome on a regular basis.

“2016 represented a bumper year for international spend from the Middle East with 18% of Westfield London’s luxury spend from within The [designer-focused] Village coming from UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait alone.”

In fact, 23% of the firm’s whole Westfield London tourist spend came from those four Middle Eastern markets.
 
The designer labels housed within The Village at the White City mall are generally particularly popular among both London’s Muslim communities and those choosing to visit and celebrate Eid in the capital. As a result, a number of stores launched special offers foe the celebration with Jimmy Choo’s Made-To-Order service including shoes and accessories designed and handmade to the customer’s specification, and Georg Jensen’s Arabic personalisation service. Louis Vuitton is also hosting a personal hot stamping event until July 9.