Media centre

Thursday 24 Nov 2016

Glasgow Central pulls ahead as station retail sales grow

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

• Network Rail reports further strong retail sales growth for July-September 2016
• Like-for-like station retail sales have risen for 18th successive quarter
• Nationally, 31% of station users – over 64 million people - visited a station retailer in the quarter

New results released today by Network Rail show that like-for-like retail sales for the period July – September 2016 at Glasgow Central station grew by 6%.

In the last year 37million people have visited the station, enough to fill a sold-out Hampden Park over 700 times. Edinburgh Waverley also saw a huge number of passengers pass through its doors, with station footfall of 28million over the same time period.

Sales growth across all of Network Rail’s managed stations grew by an average of 3.5%, more than 17 times greater than the British Retail Consortium results for the same period, which showed like-for-like growth of 0.2%.

This equates to total sales of over £166million up from £160million in the same period last year.

• Nationally, coffee shops and ‘food on the go’ purchases showed the strongest growth with the equivalent of 4.8 million cups of coffee* sold in the quarter.

• Asian food outlets and grocery sales were also strong sector performers across Network Rail’s managed stations, with 10% and 6% growth recorded respectively.

• Overall sales growth was strongest in London with King’s Cross (+13%) and Paddington (+9%) leading the way. Outside London, Manchester (+10%), Birmingham (+8%) and Glasgow (+6%) also performed well.

• The largest Network Rail managed stations by sales value were Waterloo (£27million), Liverpool Street (£23million) and Euston (£21million).

• The number of people shopping at stations – as a percentage of total station visitors – remains strong and in line with the previous quarter at 31%.  

Over the last five years, Network Rail’s ongoing investment at stations across the UK, including Glasgow Central, has helped deliver stations that are not just places to travel to and from, but destinations in their own right.

This investment is continuing with retail enhancement projects well underway at Glasgow Central and at London’s Liverpool Street, Paddington, Euston and London Bridge stations.

At the same time, the company is investing in digital technology, recently launching a trial of free Wi-Fi at Euston station which aims to significantly improve the passenger experience

David Biggs, Network Rail’s managing director of property, said: “The trend in our results reflect the changes in how consumers are choosing to shop. Busy commuters and other people who use the station want to be able to shop at a time and place that works for them. And that is why the upgrades we’ve made and are continuing to make to stations across the country are proving so popular.

“Station retail investment is improving stations for our customers, while crucially generating vital funds to reinvest back into the railway.”

 

ENDS

Notes to editors

 

1. Our managed stations

National stations	London stations
Birmingham New Street	Cannon Street
Bristol Temple Meads	Charing Cross
Edinburgh Waverley	Euston
Glasgow Central	King’s Cross
Leeds	London Bridge
Liverpool Lime Street	Liverpool Street
Manchester Piccadilly	Paddington
Reading	St Pancras International (lower level) Retail at St Pancras is managed by HS1
	Victoria
	Waterloo

 

* Based on average coffee cost of £2.50. Equivalent only - based on all sales from coffee shops in the period.