The revived Battersea Power Station (BPS) has reported a number of success stories since it was reopened as a major London mall and on Monday we got another one. Its operator said retailers there saw sales increasing 13.4% year on year in November and December.

Even better — fashion sales rose 11.7%, jewellery and accessories 13.3% and beauty 11.2% on a like-for-like basis.

It makes BPS just the latest in a series of the highest-profile UK malls that have reported a strong Christmas trading season, despite overall retail in the UK being sluggish during the period.

The success of Battersea also underlines the importance of its particular mix — such as a unique location that attracts both tourists and locals; good transport links (including access from the river); big names dedicating extra resources to the location (M&S, for instance, has opened its first fashion-only store there, while Boots has opened its first beauty-only store); plenty of food and drink outlets; and lots of non-shopping activities.

The festive season topped off a strong couple of years for the location. Since BPS’s and Electric Boulevard”s (the neighbourhood’s pedestrianised high street) public opening in October 2022, it has seen over 26 million visitors. Footfall rose 11% year on year in November and December 2024, and given the aforementioned 13.4% increase in sales, it’s clear that visitors who turned up were spending more per head.

BPS’s appeal was helped during the season by plenty of attractions with it even getting a visit from King Charles. That happened on 12 December and “was immediately followed by Battersea Power Station’s busiest week of the year for sales”.

It also saw the opening of the world’s first Transformers and Peppa Pig stores at the end of November and one fan travelled almost 6,000 miles to see it.

Plus there was a Wallace & Gromit projection on the front of the Power Station, Santa’s School for Elves, Christmas markets, Boots presents Glide at Battersea Power Station ice rink and more.

Overall, it was “its best Christmas to date”. But its highest week for footfall last year was actually from 29 July to 4 August, “as tourists and visitors made the most of summer activations”, which included The Battersea Games and the official Paris 2024 Team GB and ParalympicsGB Fanzones in Power Station Park.

There are plenty of activations planned for 2025 too with this week kicking off the annual Light Festival that runs for a month and the riverside neighbourhood will celebrate Wandsworth being named The London Borough of Culture with further art and culture activations.

Brands opening there early this year include Lindex, On Running, RW Wolf barbers, Diptyque, Heartcore Pilates, Watch House coffee shop, Salomon, The Salad Project and Bizzy Me children’s activity centre. NEON at Battersea Power Station, Central London’s first-ever purpose-built entertainment and cultural exhibition space will also open this spring.