Thousands make student lock-in a roaring success

7th October 2010

Thousands of students poured into St David’s Cardiff to make its first student lock-in an unprecedented success.  Students lined the streets to gain entry to the event which offered free entertainment and one-night-only discounts from more than 50 top brands within the shopping destination. 

The queue built up along The Hayes, down Mill Lane and up St Mary Street as an estimated 7,000 students turned out for the lock-in. 

Stores reported taking up to half of their usual day’s takings within the first half an hour of the event after students ran in through the doors.

Steven Madeley, centre director of St David’s, said: “We knew that a lock-in event exclusively for students would be popular but we were overwhelmed by the response. Students arrived up to three hours before the doors opened to be one of the first into St David’s and with 15 minutes to go, there were a few thousand in the queue. The reaction has been completely tremendous and there was a great atmosphere within the shopping centre throughout the evening.”

St David’s retailers collaborated for the after-hours lock-in, offering exclusive discounts over and above their usual student discounts. Participating stores offering discounts included Cult, Jack Jones, Vero Moda, Apple, Jane Norman, Quiz and Henley’s.

Cult was one of the busiest stores on the night, with queues of more than an hour for each till. Store manager Alan Keery said: “I don’t think it could have gone any better. It was like an invasion with hoards of people running into the store. The queues were constant and went all the way round the store – you couldn’t see the end – it was absolutely nuts. We don’t usually do a student discount so I think that’s why we proved to be so popular. It was definitely an amazing success.”

Quiksilver manager Elliot Protheroe added: “We didn’t expect such a good reaction but it was amazing.”

Free activity within St David’s included a rodeo sheep, climbing wall from Boulders and makeovers from salon Kamigata. Retailers Fenchurch, while Korres, New Look and Pulp brought in DJs for the event. Meanwhile, stores including Fenchurch and Crew offered wine and beer to the student shoppers while others offered goody bags with every purchase.

University of Glamorgan student Gavin Stockman, 21, of Rhymney, said: “We came half an hour early and were queuing on St Mary Street. Everyone was talking about it and wanted to come shopping and it was a good night. There were good discounts and it was great because everyone there were students.”

St David’s College student Paris Latte, 17, of Rumney, Cardiff, said: “It was really good – the atmosphere was buzzing. We had to queue to get in and it was exciting because we all ran into the centre and I bought clothes and make up. It’s a good idea having an event just for students because it is catered just for us.”

The event is the first student lock-in that St David’s has held but it proved so successful that St David’s has promised it will be the first of many. The next event for all shoppers at St David’s will be the fashion weekender to celebrate its first birthday. There will be fashion shows, prize giveaways and activity within St David’s on October 30-31. For more details, visit www.stdavidscardiff.com or search St David’s / Dewi Sant on Facebook.

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