Junction One, Northern Ireland’s top-ranked out-of-town shopping and leisure destination, saw Easter weekend sales up eight per cent against the same period last year. Footfall was also significantly up, with 15 per cent more visitors than at Easter 2008.

The Next branch was the company’s top-performing outlet store in the UK for Easter Monday and Tuesday, while the Trespass and Game stores also reached the number one slot in their respective company league tables. Nike recorded a 35 per cent increase in sales on Easter last year.

Junction One’s asset manager John Drummond said: “Now more than ever shoppers are being driven by the need to seek out bargains and get real value for money. While Junction One’s highly successful outlet formula delivers on both accounts on a daily basis, we decided to further enhance our holiday offer with the launch of an exclusive continental market and Easter fayre. Retailers and visitors alike clearly enjoyed the experience with many stores reporting double digit percentage uplifts over last year’s sales at this time.”

Source: www.shopping-centre.co.uk, 26 June, 2009