Boxing Day boost for Yorkshire retailers

YORKSHIRE’S major shopping centres have defied the gloom in the retail sector and welcomed record numbers of visitors over the Christmas period.

Sheffield’s Meadowhall Centre saw around 150,000 shoppers looking for a bargain yesterday, a Boxing Day record.

The White Rose Centre is also celebrating its busiest ever Christmas week with more than 400,000 visitors.

Bargain hunters were queuing at 2.30am at the Meadowhall Centre yesterday. Director Darren Pearce said: “Boxing Day has always been one of the most talked about shopping days of the year, and this year has been no exception with a record number of shoppers seeking to get their hands on the best post-Christmas bargains.

“Our increasing portfolio of high end brands and retailers, and the success of our newly refurbished Oasis Dining Quarter has had a significant impact on footfall this year, catapulting the Centre to new heights.

“This year indications show that approximately 150,000 shoppers will have visited Meadowhall today, with an estimated 750,000 in total for the first week of the Christmas sales – another first for the Meadowhall history books.”

The British Retail Consortium is expecting final figures to show spending modestly up in December compared to last year.

White Rose Centre manager Dean Stratton, said: “In Christmas week we welcomed almost 400,000 visitors – an all-time record since White Rose opened 15 years ago.  We also had our busiest-ever Christmas eve, with more than 48,000 shoppers through our doors and some 4,000 people queued before 6am for the start of the Next’s Boxing Day sale.”

Mr Stratton, added: “In spite of the difficult economic climate, our loyal shoppers were here in their thousands and many were able to leave with bags full of bargains both before and after Christmas.”