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Basingstoke Business News
Women In Business News for March 2007
16 April 2007
In March, the Women In Business Group held its Annual General Meeting at Ciao Baby restaurant in Festival Place, Basingstoke. Chaired by President, Sue Brown, the current Committee members were voted back in for a further year. Sue Brown reports,
"We have enjoyed another full year of activities, including some great speakers at our monthly meetings. 2006/07 was particularly important for the Group as our website was launched. It has proved to be a great success with 102 members currently including details of their businesses."
"I am delighted to report that we are celebrating our 15th Year, which will be marked with various events throughout the year. The Committee would like to express a special thank you to Sheila Glyn-Owen, who resigned from the Committee at our AGM, but who will remain a member. Sheila has held a long association with the Women In Business Group, tirelessly providing her time and dedication for over 10 years to help make it such a successful resource for business women who work and live in North-Hampshire."
Guest Speaker - Jane Stewart, Festival Place
Sheila was presented with a bouquet of flowers and Sue Brown then introduced this month's guest speaker, Jane Stewart (pictured), the Marketing Manager for Basingstoke's Festival Place.
This year Festival Place celebrates its 5th birthday. Jane joined the centre management team seven years ago during construction to develop the Festival Place brand and run the events and marketing during the building work. She is now heads up a team of five people who are responsible for managing and marketing the Centre.
"Our vision", explains Jane, "was to create a regional shopping and leisure destination, opening up the real Basingstoke and bringing new life and soul in to the town centre. Our plan was for 165 retailers, 20 restaurants, bars and cafes, a night-club, refurbished sports centre and library. The Landlords, Grosvenor, and their partners invested £300 million pounds in the building and refurbishment of Festival Place."
89,000 people attended the official opening day on Tuesday, 22nd October five years ago.
Five Years On at Festival Place
"Five years on, the centre we have today is very different from the centre we opened in October 2002. Today, we have 165 stores, 29 restaurants, bars and cafes, a multi-screen cinema, night-club, Sports Centre and Library. The majority of the new brands we have brought in to the centre are aspirational brands which have enhanced the reputation of the centre. It has become a destination for a day trip, combining shopping with lunch or dinner and a visit to the cinema."
Festival Place saw 18.4 million visitors through its doors last year, compared to 13 million before it opened and enjoyed its most successful trading year to date in 2006.
Recognition for Festival Place
The centre itself has won a number of awards over the last five years, including a Purple Apple Merit for marketing, a Cleanability Award, the Park Mark for a safe car park and Attendant Team of the Year Award in the Loo of the Year Awards 2007.
"However, there is no getting away from the headlines in the press. Retailers are having a tough time. Increases in fuel costs, interest rate rises and taxes all make demands on the pound in our pockets. There is more competition from on-line shopping and more choice of where to shop. On a more positive note, it should be remembered that retailers in Festival Place are exceeding national performance. Only last year, Stuart Rose, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer said at the Retail Week conference in May, 'Go and see Basingstoke. It's a thriving retail community and Festival Place is an excellent example of town regeneration. It's become a leading regional shopping centre and the high-quality design has attracted many of the UK's best brands. I thoroughly recommend it'."
With continuing initiatives, the future's looking very bright for Festival Place.
Details of how to join Women In Business, their monthly events and other news and information can be found on the Women In Business Group (WIBG) website.