White River Place enjoys a successful first Christmas

White River Place’s first Christmas was a great success, with footfall up 60% during the week leading up to Christmas.

The centre also hosted the very successful “Xmas Factor” in the run up to Christmas. Centre Manager, Claire Daniel was on the judging panel as White River Place welcomed TV crews to film the run up to the competition’s final, which saw two local stars Isabelle Lusty and Dom Youngman shoot to the top spot.

Claire Daniel, Centre Manager of White River Place explains: “December saw some 7000 shoppers visit White River Place, which is wonderful news for our first Christmas. With events such as the Xmas Factor taking place, there was a real buzz in St Austell this year.

"Many St Austell residents have told me how much they have enjoyed the increased choice that White River Place has brought to the town, particularly as they have been doing their Christmas shopping. This is great news for St Austell town centre as a whole, as it shows that people are being encouraged to spend more of their earnings here in the town."

Colin Dando from Wilkinson added: "Trade has been thriving over the Christmas period and we have been delighted with our first two months in St Austell. Products that have proved particuarly popular this Christmas included gogo hamsters and remote control cars."

Unseasonably, but very welcome, mild weather drew many people out to do early Christmas shopping, ahead of the snow of the final few shopping days. The British Retail Consortium reported that 42 per cent of retailers expected this Christmas to be better than last year.

The opening of White River Place at the end of October provided a significant boost for the regional economy, with the the arrival of a massive new Wilkinson store complete with 95 new jobs and a raft of other retailers including Peacocks, Bonmarche, New Look and Halifax bank. A number of other stores are hoping to open up at the centre in the new year which suggest the positive news for St Austell is set to continue.

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