A Belfast shopping centre has revealed its latest retail opening while also announcing a 12% rise in footfall during December.
CastleCourt Shopping Centre on Royal Avenue said some shops had even increased their sales by 30% during last month.
And it announced that value womenswear retailer Vanilla, a brand sold in New Look, will be opening a standalone store at the centre.
Its 12% year on year increase in December footfall has upended a city-wide drop of 7.2% reported by the NI Retail Consortium last week.
The centre, which is owned by Co Down property company Wirefox, said footfall had even reached pre-Covid-19 levels on December 20, 21 and 23, when there was an increase of around 20% on the same days in 2023.
Centre manager Leona Barr said the team had worked hard to continue to make CastleCourt a top destination. Major openings during 2024 including discounter TK Maxx, which was returning to the centre after a long period in Donegall Arcade.
And Ms Barr said its improved figures for December had come despite traffic problems in the city in the run-up to Christmas.
She said: “Those final shopping days before Christmas are crucial for our stores and leisure outlets, and after December 2023’s transport strikes we were hopeful for higher footfall and sales throughout the centre.
“However, the month brought widely reported traffic congestion throughout Belfast city centre to contend with, so we are delighted to still have such positive results to share.
“On the whole, 2024 was a fantastic year, which saw our shopping centre become even more of an attraction.
“We welcomed TK Maxx back into the centre, and brought well-known national and local brands into new units, such as Greggs and Jacqueline Rooney Art’s first city centre gallery.
“Attracting such names and brands to our centre is crucial for our business and the wider Belfast city centre, giving our shoppers continued choice and confidence in their visit to CastleCourt.”
The centre said that new tenants in 2024 had brought over 100 new jobs.
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And Ms Barr said 2025 would be “another year of firsts”. “Our first new opening for 2025 will be Northern Ireland’s first ever standalone Vanilla store, a popular fashion range currently only available at New Look, which will open in the spring.
“We look forward to revealing more big names in the near future.”
Co Down shopping outlet The Boulevard said it had also reversed trends with a 6% increase in sales in the run-up to Christmas.
The designer retail destination outside Banbridge said discounts in shops like Kate Spade ny, Levi’s, Nike and Molton Brown had enabled it to outperform other shopping centres and high streets.
The NI Retail Consortium has reported that footfall in shopping centres and high streets across Northern Ireland declined 5.8% in December.
During 2024, The Boulevard – owned by Co Down company Lotus Property – attracted new brands including handbag retailer Radley, sportswear specialist Castore and menswear names Police and Ben Sherman.