Despite a year of national lockdowns and regional circuit breakers north and south of the Irish border, The Boulevard, Banbridge owned by Lotus Property, has bucked the Covid downturn trend, with a 19 per cent increase in both overall turnover and footfall since reopening in June 2020, with sales growth of 39 per cent in the sports and outdoor categories and 43 per cent in homeware.
The Boulevard, uniquely positioned in Northern Ireland close to the border with the Republic of Ireland, welcomed Dune London to the scheme earlier this month, coinciding with Northern Ireland’s circuit breaker lockdown ending – the third new tenant to arrive at the scheme since retail reopened its doors in June 2020.
It follows big brands Joules and Molton Brown who opened in July and September respectively, joining other tenants like GAP, Timberland, Kurt Geiger, GUESS, Jack Wills and Crew Clothing among others.
The landlords have cited the scheme’s significant open air footprint and investment in social distancing measures with a 90 per cent customer satisfaction score of the overall shopping experience and continued success despite facing the retail industry’s toughest year.
