Bigger shops have led to higher sales, reports Norfolkline

The cross-Channel ferry operator has reported a surge in sales following the expansion of its onboard stores.

Cross-Channel ferry operator Norfolkline has reported strong sales increases across all product categories after extending the stores on board its three ships sailing between Dover and Dunkerque. Late last year the operator increased store sizes on each of its vessels by 40% to 210sq m (2,260sq ft), and created an identical layout and design for each outlet so frequent passengers could shop more quickly and efficiently.

The beauty category has benefited the most from the refit, with more space being allocated to it. Year-to-date sales of fragrances and skincare products have risen by 67% and 225% respectively. Other product sectors have also prospered, with sales of children's toys up by 120% and beer sales up 24%.

Norfolkline head of onboard purchasing Barry Hopkins stated: "We are very aggressive on pricing. However, we also pride ourselves on having cross-Channel exclusives such as Molton Brown products and the Nintendo Wii games console, which says a lot about our onboard retail environment.

"We don't pile it high and sell it cheap anymore," he added. "We are now a proper retail environment akin to what you would see in any leading airport duty-free shop. We don't label ourselves as Harrods because that is not what the cross-Channel ferry market is about, but we do carry top brands including Clarins, Prada, Fendi and Viktor & Rolf."

Norfolkline carried more than 2m passengers on its UK routes last year and enjoys a 21% share of the cross-Channel car ferry market from Dover. Passenger numbers in the year to date are up by 7-8%.

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