Press Release

ONE MILLION SHOPPERS COME TO WEST END FOR TRAFFIC-FREE SHOPPING DAY

2 December 2006

A million shoppers came into London’s West End for the first traffic-free shopping day its history. Dubbed 'Shop West End VIP Day', standing for Very Important Pedestrians, the West End’s internationally renowned streets of Regent Street and Oxford Street joined forces to give shoppers the red carpet treatment. Retailers reported strong sales with record numbers of footfall.

West End shops offered complimentary hospitality all through the day, luxury goody bags, and celebrity styling services were offered by many of the shops. On top of that 150 free theatrical, music and comedy pieces were performed to make this a Christmas shopping day that everyone would remember.

Bernd Hoffman from Dusseldorf in Germany said: “The West End rocked today, everyone was in the Christmas spirit making the most of the free champagne and mulled wine, and the children have never seen so many Santas and live reindeer on one day.”

Nora Regan from Chicago, USA commented: “We thought the US led the way in retail, but today London could be proud. It really was an exceptional way to shop, with 600 shops within strolling distance and no traffic to think about.”

Rachel Bennington from Oxford, UK: “It was brilliant – I had the kids with me but I didn’t have to worry about the traffic and got all of my Christmas shopping done in one day. I don’t even have to take it home – the shops are sending it home to my house for free!”

The West End sees 40 million shoppers over the festive six weeks, with 25% visiting from overseas, and 21% from outside the capital. Combined, these shoppers spend in excess of £1 billion.

Jace Tyrrell, of New West End Company, the organisers of the event, said: “We could be proud of everything the West End had to offer shoppers today, a fantastic and stress-free shopping environment. When the acrobats performed their piece mid-air at Oxford Circus, all against the stunning back drop of Oxford Street’s and Regent Street’s world famous lights, the atmosphere was electric. Crucially, however, it was a great day for trade, with retailers reporting fantastic sales during this all important festive trading period, which many retailers rely on to account for over half of their annual turnover.”

Adds Nick Mather, CEO of Hamleys: “The Shop West End VIP Day gave shoppers the freedom of the West End and showed Regent Street’s truly magical Christmas shopping atmosphere with all its lights and famous flagships stores a truly unique experience. The West End offers some of the best shopping in the world and needs more opportunities like this to provide a great day out for customers.”

Full details can be found on the New West Company website.

The event was supported by the West End’s retailers, Visit London, the Mayor’s Office, Westminster City Council, Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police, and was attended by London’s Mayor, Ken Livingstone.