Manchester launches all-week late trading
City centre extends opening hours
Manchester is to be the first city centre in the UK to introduce all-week long late night shopping.
From today, more than 120 retailers, including Selfridges, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Primark, French Connection and the Manchester Arndale shopping centre have committed to late night opening.
In an initiative co-ordinated by the Manchester City Centre Management Company, theatres, restaurants, hotels and transport operators are also supporting longer trading hours. Stores will open until 8pm, six nights a week, enabling the 120,000 people working in Manchester city centre, as well as its 15,000 residents, to use the city centre for longer.
Glen Barkworth, general manager of Manchester Arndale said: “Manchester Arndale was one of the first to sign up to late night shopping, thanks to the overwhelming support from our retailers. What’s more, with 90 per cent of
retailers on Market Street, the second busiest street in the UK, supporting late night shopping from Primark, TKMaxx at one end to M&S and Selfridges at the other, there is significant support in the city’s shopping core.
“In October this will be given further momentum with the opening of the new Next store in Exchange Square, which will also open late. Ultimately, late night opening presents an exciting opportunity for all city centre retailers and we look forward to opening our doors until 8pm, six days a week.”
Mark Limby, general manager of Selfridges in Exchange Square, said: “At Selfridges we felt that late night opening across the city centre offered a fantastic opportunity for Manchester to compete with other large cities on this scale in terms of offering visitors and residents a 24-hour leisure experience.”
