Next and Sketchers open in Festival Place
Festival Place, the 1m sq ft shopping centre in Basingstoke, has boosted its fashion retail offer with a new store from footwear brand Sketchers and a new 48,000 sq ft anchor flagship from Next.
The centre is currently undergoing a major refurbishment to improve its shopping, dining, public spaces and parking, which follows its acquisition by real estate asset manager AEW a year ago.
Next's store, which joins fellow anchor stores Marks & Spencer and Debenhams, will showcase its full men's, women's and children's fashion offer as well as homewares and its sub-label Lipsy. It is twice the size of the brand's previous store in the centre. Meanwhile sports-inspired footwear brand Sketchers has taken a 2,800 sq ft unit.
"We’re fulfilling our promise to our customers to improve Festival Place, and, after just over a year since acquisition, substantial changes can be seen throughout," said AEW head of private equity funds Russell Jewell.
"Next’s new anchor store looks great, and will act as a catalyst for investment in the centre, attracting further retail and F&B occupiers. We’re delighted to be adding Skechers to the mix of brands, and have several further exciting announcements in the pipeline," Jewell added.
