A discount shopping centre in Chatham is celebrating a major milestone as it reaches full occupancy with the arrival of a national retailer this month. Dockside Outlet Centre at Chatham Maritime has enjoyed a series of new lettings over the past year amid growing customer footfall, despite several store closures during the pandemic. Landlord WD Ltd, which bought the shopping centre for £9.1 million in 2015, is pursuing an 'outlet and community' approach to diversify the centre's offering. From a schoolwear shop to a job centre, bosses hope the strategy will both continue to boost footfall and future-proof the centre, by ensuring it remains community-focused. Saltrock Lifestyle clothing chain Saltrock is the latest brand to join Dockside, with its new store set to open in the next two weeks. It is taking over the unit previously occupied by Quirky Gifts, which closed last month. Saltrock sells a range of surf-inspired men's, women's and children's clothing, as well as water sports equipment including surf boards, body boards and paddle boards. An opening date for Saltrock's store is yet to be announced. Simmonds Family-run schoolwear supplier Simmonds opened at the end of last month, creating four new jobs, signing a five-year lease. The shop is stocked with schoolwear essentials for 11 schools in Medway, including coats, bags, school shoes, trainers and stationary. A one-to-one measuring and fitting service is also available inside. Lazy Jacks Casual clothing retailer Lazy Jacks brought the Devon coast to Chatham with the opening of its first branch in Kent in May. The family-owned firm specialises in colourful clothing with a nautical style, offering collections of menswear, womenswear and children's wear. It took over the unit left empty by the closure of Cadbury, which had been at the outlet centre for 18 years. Reed in Partnership and DWP Two unusual new tenants marked the beginning of the year for Dockside. Employment agency Reed in Partnership opened in the former Sports Direct unit on a five-year lease. Meanwhile, the government's Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) set up an office in the former Poundstretcher store, which closed last year, on a six-year lease. The two offices are supporting the Restart Scheme - an employment programme commissioned by the DWP to support unemployed people back into work. They are offering advice and guidance, skills training and recruitment support. Smil The centre now boasts a dental practice with the opening of Smil at the end of November last year. Located in a unit upstairs next to The Range, its offers family and cosmetic dentistry, implants and facial aesthetics. It also has two 'smile advisors' who help patients visualise their current situation and discuss treatment options in a private consultation room. Beauty Outlet UK's fastest growing beauty retailer Beauty Outlet joined the centre in July last year. The shop sells products from the biggest beauty brands at discount prices, including Rimmel London, Elizabeth Arden, Max Factor and Revlon. It signed a ten-year lease and saw around 25 new jobs created. Dockside Day Nursery and Pre-School expansion Dockside Day Nursery and Pre-School continues to grow since opening in 2018, prompting the centre's management suite to relocate and free up additional space for an expansion of the nursery. The expansion, which forms part of a new 15-year lease, will allow the nursery care and education provider to increase its intake from 72 to just over 100 children. Dockside was among the first UK shopping centres to incorporate a school. Other new openings in the past year include The Fragrance Shop and Pad Thai Live, which was a street market food stall that became a restaurant offering dine-in, takeaway and home deliveries. The two occupiers signed a five-year lease and a four-year lease respectively. The latest deals come after a report on the centre by research group CACI suggested that its performance had significantly improved. Footfall at the centre now reaches more than 2.25 million per annum, growing by 8.5% in 2021 compared to the same period in June and July in 2019 - the comparative period before the pandemic impacted UK retail destinations. Meanwhile, spend per head had risen by 13%. Centre manager Anthony Sutton said: "What was the management suite has now become park of Dockside Day Nursery. This is due to the demand for spaces in the current nursery.
"Works have begun and phased over a period of time. Part of the new space has already been converted to accommodate children. This nursery has gone from strength to strength and has achieved an Outstanding OFTSED rating. "This along with SMIL dentist, Reed Partnership and Job Centre on the first floor this is a specific move to serve the local community better with services along side strong retailing on the ground floor." The centre - which is located inside a refurbished Grade II-listed boiler shop of the former Royal Navy Dockyard - opened on 2 July 2003. It cost £67 million and saw more than 15,000 shoppers flock through the doors on its opening day. The 16,257 sqm (175,000 sq ft) centre is anchored by The Range and features national retailers such as M&S Outlet, Clarks, Regatta, Mountain Warehouse and ProCook.
Karen watts
7/7/2022 11:34:18
We need a cheap pound store or home bargains again to pull people in especially in this day and age! Expensive outlet shops are not what is needed unfortunately
Emily
7/7/2022 18:13:12
The retail outlets aren't expensive. Chatham highstreet has plenty of pound stores. Dockside is a breath of fresh air from pound shops actually in my opinion. Comments are closed.
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