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Facts and Figures

A dominant regional shopping centre

With the expansion of the retail mix and introduction of new leisure attractions, Milton Keynes is now Britain's biggest shopping experience. thecentre:mk is a stimulating, bustling regional shopping district situated in the heart of Milton Keynes, providing an exciting, dynamic and vibrant mix of retail, eating and civic spaces that link shopping to the rest of the city centre.

For shopping, you have the choice of over 230 stores, restaurants and cafés. Anchor shops include John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser, flagship health and beauty store Boots, Bhs and the premier HMV store.

With thecentre:mk boasting average annual sales in excess of £500 million, nearly 30 million visits per annum and a number new lettings over last year and the beginning of this year - shopping just got better

Milton Keynes has a primary catchment population of 8 million, 35.5% of the UK population (that's over 20 million) live within a 2 hour drive time of Central Milton Keynes and coupled with Midsummer Place, thecentre:mk welcomes over 52 million visitors each year.

With Milton Keynes becoming the fastest growing town in the UK and economic growth at twice the national average, the Theatre District, Xscape and the range of shops, bars and other leisure activities are all helping to capitalise on the rapidly growing band of ABC1's with disposable income.

With the local population younger than the national average, in fact over a third are under 35 years of age, there is incredible scope within Milton Keynes to cater to an affluent market.

ANALYSIS OF CATCHMENT POPULATION

Research studies carried out twice a year in May and December captured shopper's visit frequency and views of thecentre:mk

Since May 2003 visitor frequency has increased to an average overall dwell time of 3 hours. Customers who normally spend up to 1 hour stayed longer as did those who normally spend 1 to 2 hours.

Average expenditure increased by 4.8% year on year in December 2003 with the average shopping basket now up to £114.

Over 80% of customers travel by car, endorsing the centre's 'regional' attraction and pull.

The customer profile is upmarket with 60% ABC1 customers in December 2003.

During December 2003 thecentre:mk saw over 3 million visitors, with trade peaking strongly in the last two weeks after Friday 19th December. Saturday 27th December was the busiest trading day of the year with over 145,000 visits.

Recall of the recent advertising at Christmas 2003 was higher than in December 2002, at 70% compared to 66%. On each occasion television was much the most frequently mentioned medium, recalled by nine out of ten of those seeing the campaign.

CUSTOMER ATTITUDES
House of Fraser, Centre MKThe Shopping experience for the majority of shoppers at thecentre:mk readily agree that it is a very safe place to come family shopping. Equally, the variety of fashionable clothing and footwear outlets is still held in very high regard.

LATEST FACTS & FIGURES
Following the results of the December 2003 Exit Survey, thecentre:mk is delighted to announce the following:

Profile

  • 60% of shoppers are ABC1 category
  • The proportion of AB households and per capita expenditure are both well above national average (Source: PMA Nov 2003)

Spend

  • Average expenditure increased by 4.8% year on year in December 2003 with the average shopping basket now up to £114.
  • The proportion of AB households and per capita expenditure, for example, are, are well above national averages (source: PMA 2003)
  • thecentre:mk has been identified as having the highest growth potential in every merchandise catergory nationally (Source: CACI, information solutions)

Safety

  • Shoppers reported the standard of safety to be at its highest ever level.
    (Source: Magpie Research Services Ltd)
  • Over 29 million visitors per annum
  • thecentre:mk is listed as one of the top ten shopping centres ranked for attractiveness (Source: Experian 2001 report endorsed by BCSC)
  • Milton Keynes is the fastest growing city in the UK. The population expansion growth rate is three times above the national average (Source: CACI Information Services)
  • Milton Keynes is one of the five richest districts in the UK (Source: ONS) and it benefits from a more affluent and more youthful catchment population than other major cities or RSC's.
  • thecentre:mk has a higher than average spend for Indoor & Covered Centres, reflecting our role as a regional centre (Source: MRS/ Experian 2001 report)
  • Combined with Midsummer Place, our joint proposition offers over 1.79m sq ft (GLA) compared with Bluewater (1.67m sq ft), Cribbs Causeway (725,000 sq ft) and Meadowhall (1.25m sq ft) making us one of the largest shopping centres in the UK and still the longest covered centre in Europe (Source: Shopping Centre & Retail Directory 2001/ Independent)
  • thecentre:mk attracts visitors from a catchment area over a 26 mile radius including Oxford, Coventry, Peterborough, Watford & Cambridge.

To find out more about thecentre:mk, its customers and marketing strategy, please download our fact file.