Liverpool One targets Manchester moolah

Liverpool One is aiming to poach shoppers from Manchester and the Trafford Centre in the run up to Christmas.

Two Manchester PR agencies have picked up the £1.5m account for the Liverpool One shopping centre. Weber Shandwick (WSN) and McCann Manchester (MM) will split the account, with a brief to ‘revitalise the brand’ and regenerate interest among potential visitors.

Hayley Corbett, account director at Weber Shandwick, said nabbing customers from Manchester and the Trafford Centre was the first challenge.

“The Trafford Centre is definitely the main competition,” she said. “We haven’t set targets, but we are planning to.

“Liverpool One’s ambition is to stand out among all other shopping centres and leisure destinations in the region. We want to draw people in from Manchester city centre, Chester, Warrington, Wigan and the rest of Greater Manchester.”

Nick McAllester, retail specialist at the Manchester office of Colliers International, said Liverpool would face a tough challenge to draw shoppers from its near neighbours.

“Traditionally, people from Liverpool have shopped in Manchester because the offering was much better,” he said. “Liverpool is getting better, but it’s not quite there yet and the infrastructure is probably better in Manchester.

“The Trafford Centre has free parking spaces and it’s covered, as is the Arndale Centre. Liverpool One is open air, so it’s not going to be as popular if it rains. I can perhaps see them taking customers out of places like Warrington, but I don’t think Manchester’s got much to worry about.”