• Home
  • News
  • Retail
  • Network Rail retail sales grew 4.36 percent in 2018/19

Network Rail retail sales grew 4.36 percent in 2018/19

By Danielle Wightman-Stone

loading...

Scroll down to read more

Retail

Network Rail’s managed station estate, which includes London stations London Bridge, Liverpool Street and St Pancras International, has reported a significant retail sales growth of 4.36 percent in the 2018/19 financial year.

It welcomed over a quarter of a billion customers into its stores and like-for-like sales were steady at 1.32 percent, well above the British Retail Consortium figure of 0.05 percent for the same period.

Its largest station retail offer at London Bridge station is proving "hugely popular with passengers” said Network Rail. The transformed station houses more than 70 purpose-built shops and it has doubled its total sales for the first three months of 2019 compared to the same period last year. It recorded over 14 million pounds in purchases, while sales for the 2018/19 financial year grew by more than 75 percent.

Niche station retail categories including technology (+105 percent), home and lifestyle (+25 percent), and books (+18 percent) all proved popular purchases in the last year, showing shoppers are looking to stations for traditional high-street items as well as the usual on-the-go food and small purchase offers.

These results mark the eighth straight year, and 32nd successive quarter, that like-for-like sales have increased for Network Rail.

David Biggs, managing director of Network Rail Property, said: “We know that convenience is king for our busy passengers and station users. That’s why we are delivering a passenger-centric retail offer across our estate and are pleased it continues to be successful despite some tough market conditions.

“We’re committed to delivering a positive experience for the 900 million people who use our stations each year. We continue to work with our colleagues to create modern railway stations that are also destinations in their own right – great places for people to shop, eat, socialise and travel.”

Image: courtesy of Network Rail

:network rail