Frasers Plus East Midlands sees ‘strong’ growth after fashion store expansion

Tenant stores at Frasers Plus Designer Outlet East Midlands have reported sales and footfall growth, following store expansions by Barbour, Levi's and Skechers that allowed the brands to increase product ranges and refresh their store environments.

Levi's performance stood out in particular. After a 68% store expansion in July 2025, which increased the floorspace to 3,485 sq ft, the denim retailer saw a 42% year-on-year increase in sales and a 28% jump in footfall. 

The larger layout allowed Levi’s to carry a broader and deeper product offer, while introducing larger changing rooms and creating a more open shopping environment.

British lifestyle brand Barbour meanwhile grew its footprint by 51% to 3,101 sq ft in March 2026. Sales then rose 23%, as the bigger format gave it room to broaden its product offer.

Skechers also enlarged its store by 76% in December 2025 and has since reported a 15% sales uplift. Kurt Geiger completed a full refit in March 2026, although no sales or footfall figures were disclosed for the refurbished store.

Paul Sutton, Centre Manager at Frasers Plus Designer Outlet East Midlands, said: “These results demonstrate the strength of the centre’s trading performance, and the positive impact that larger, better-designed store formats can have on both sales and footfall.”

Sutton said customers had responded well to broader ranges and improved layouts, with the performances of Barbour, Le Creuset and Levi’s showing the effect of the changes.

Frasers Group expands its outlet portfolio

The results follow Frasers Group’s acquisition of East Midlands Designer Outlet and York Designer Outlet in April 2026, extending the retail group’s UK property portfolio.

The East Midlands destination spans 170,000 sq ft near the M1 and houses more than 65 designer brands. It attracts approximately 3.5 million visitors annually.

Its tenant mix features BOSS, Calvin Klein, Molton Brown and Tommy Hilfiger. In April, Frasers Group said it owned more than one-fifth of the UK outlet market and intended to grow that share.

The group also added Swindon Designer Outlet to its portfolio in December 2025, after a broader run of shopping centre and retail property acquisitions.