The UK’s hottest ever April has stoked sales at Swansea’s Quadrant Centre with clothing retailers reporting a boom in sales.
The unseasonably warm temperatures, the Royal Wedding and two bank holiday weekends have seen a bonanza for stores as shoppers have flocked to the centre.
Shorts, T-shirts and swimwear have been flying off the shelves, according to store managers who have been delighted at the sales spree.
New Look, in the Quadrant, have reported a six per cent year on year increase for April and manager Sam Rees said: “We have definitely seen a big increase in footfall and we’ve been very successful last month.
“The children have also been off school which always helps but it’s still busy now when they’ve gone back.
“We’re about six per cent up on last year and so I’m very happy with how it’s going.
“Most of the increase in sales is in casual wear, shirts, shorts and summer tops and beachwear and footwear is doing really well too and we feel we’ve got a really good product range.
“People tend to come here for something a little bit different and that’s working for us as well.”
Outdoor specialists Animal are also enjoying a sunshine sales boost and manager Angharad Penry said: “We’ve been really busy – the weather definitely encourages people to spend.
“Sales have been up on last year, particularly for swimwear and bikinis and shorts and T-shirts and we’ve got all our summer ranges in now.
“I think people appreciate that with Animal we change with the seasons and they can kit the whole family out for the summer holidays.”
At Republic supervisor Nazrine Howard said: “It’s been very busy, particularly last week, and our Fast Fashion range, which covers whatever is in at the moment, has been the big seller.
“It’s very much the summery look at the moment with high-waisted shorts and shirts and men’s shirts in particular have been doing well.
“The bank holidays have helped and we had 25 per cent off at the Easter sales.”
At Dorothy Perkins store manager Clare Young has also seen sales rise with the temperatures: “When the warm weather first started I think people were keen to take advantage of it rather than go shopping,” she said.
“But when it continued they began to think about their summer wardrobe and stocking up on suitable clothes so we have been selling plenty of jersey tops and shorts and summery dresses.
“It’s certainly brought lots of people out and we’ve had plenty through the doors to update their summer clothes.”
Quadrant Centre Manager Alan Wallace also welcomed the weather and said: “There’s certainly been a good few people around and generally when there are lots of people in the centre then the shops are doing good business.
“The warm weather works for us and we’re happy to enjoy it.”
