St David's student lock in attracts 15,000

7th October 2011

A student lock-in at St David’s has become Wales’ biggest student shopping event after attracting over 15,000 shoppers in just two and half hours.

The entire shopping destination was handed over to Welsh students for the after-hours Lock-In when the doors closed to the public. St David’s was transformed with a vibrant atmosphere including DJs, promotions, prize giveaways, free food samples and beer under the cover of twilight. More than 80 stores re-opened their doors for the Student Lock-In offering one-night only discounts with some taking double their usual day’s sales within just two-and-a-half hours.

Even though many students pre-registered to avoid having to queue, the line of students prior to the event’s launch stretched all the way down The Hayes, along Mill Lane and up St Mary Street.

Student Lock-In was launched last October as a one-off promotional night but proved so successful by attracting over 7,000 students, it has now become a regular event. This year’s Student Lock-In has beaten all expectations with more than double the number of student shoppers flocking to the Cardiff shopping centre.

Steven Madeley, centre director of St David’s which is jointly owned by Land Securities and Capital Shopping Centres (CSC), said: “Last year’s Student Lock-In was a huge success but the fact that this year we had nearly double the number of student shoppers is incredible. There was a completely different atmosphere and it was great to see our malls filled with students enjoying shopping in St David’s.

“Cardiff has a fantastic appeal to students who want to study in a cosmopolitan and vibrant city. As one of the UK’s top retail destinations, Cardiff is a great place for shopping and we wanted to embrace this. The whole idea of the Student Lock-In is to provide students with something a little bit different and was catered entirely for them to offer a huge welcome to the city and show them just what we have to offer. St David’s really went all out to impress students with our biggest ever student shopping event and we have been overwhelmed with the response.”

UWIC fresher Stacy Marshall, 20, of Newport, said: “The Student Lock-In has been a bit mad; there was a lot of music and lots going on. It’s a great idea and something different too. My aim was to get into the Cult store as they don’t usually offer a student discount so I waited outside until it opened and ran in.”

Cardiff University student India Carter, 19, said: “It’s the first time I’ve been to an event like this, it’s very hectic but good fun. I’ve got lots of bargains!” Friend Dani Beach, 18, added: “The music is great and it’s good that it’s after hours that it is just for students.”

Retailers taking part in Student Lock-In included Debenhams, Pulp, Crew, Leia, Reiss, GStar, H&M, Calvin Klein Underwear and New Look. Meanwhile, some of St David’s newest additions Cath Kidston, Ed’s Easy Diner and Mango offered exclusive discounts and competitions. The Grand Arcade was filled with promotional stands while Cult had a saxophonist in store and a DJ played on The Hayes to entertain the queue.

After offering student discounts and free samples, Krispy Kreme sold more doughnuts during the Student Lock-In than it usually does in a whole day. Store manager Michael Dewey said: “This is the first Student Lock-In since we’ve been open so we knew we had to do this to introduce ourselves to the student market and what better way than being part of Cardiff’s biggest student shopping event. It went really well for us; it was an exciting night which was great to be part of.”

Gemma Davies, store manager of Springfield which offered 150 free gifts and doubled its student discount to 20%, said: “As a relatively new brand to Wales, we wanted to showcase our store to student shoppers and the Student Lock-In was a great success. We had a queue outside of the store before it opened and there was a fantastic atmosphere with lots of activity throughout the whole of St David’s.”

Meanwhile, Peacocks offered an in-store DJ, free drinks, a discount and goody bags to its student shoppers. Assistant store manager Muhsin Nachiveettil, said: “The Student Lock-In was brilliant. It was a great opportunity for students to get a discount and see the store, especially for freshers and those new to the country. We’ve done really well and the students have had a great time.”

For more information about St David’s, visit the Facebook Page and Twitter profiles, search St David’s / Dewi Sant and follow @StDavidsCardiff.

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