UK shopping centre trains staff to serve Chinese customers
One of the UK’s largest shopping centres is training staff in how to serve customers from China, as increasing numbers of Chinese tourists choose to spend money on luxury brands in the country.
Cheshire Oaks, a discount outlet village near Chester owned by McArthurGlen Group, has recruited a trainer to school staff in dealing with Chinese shoppers.
Colin Wilding, manager of the centre, said he had seen a rise in tourists combining a visit to the Roman city of Chester with a shopping trip. “We are seeing a massive increase in overseas tourism, particularly from China. In the first quarter, our overseas transactions were up 51%,” he said.
“They like the history and culture. There are certain British brands that they cannot get there. We have a retail academy on site and we have recruited a lady from Hong Kong to train staff in how to deal with Chinese customers. They like to be fussed over whereas British people generally like to be left alone.”
Overseas tourists accounted for 15% of spending, he said, and had helped produce an 8% year-on-year sales rise across the shopping centre’s 150 units.
