DestinationJOY
Where celebrations begin
Incredible moments, famous faces and a whole lot of YOU! Explore 30 years of #CheshireOaks and join in the celebrations with us!
'90s Throwback
Back in March 25th 1995, Cheshire Oaks was born. First beginning with 35 stores, taking up 101,000 sqft of space, it was a far cry from the 160 stores and 19 food partners we now have, equalling 400,000 sqft of shopping paradise.
The space was initially designed in the traditional open ring style - with parking centred in the middle of the space - but with expansion, inward facing stores were added, creating the double-stored 'racetrack' common to most European outlets.
Now with an additional 300,000 sqft, the site has become a full enclosed 'circle' that most of us know and love, with 2019 seeing our £40m expansion creating an additional 25 stores.
The UK's Largest Designer Outlet
Still being the biggest designer outlet in the UK is something that we're really proud of, but there's lots of other interesting things about us and our stores that you might not know about...
The centre is 1.1 miles round to do a full loop, if you walk around the centre 4.5 times you will achieve the recommended 10,000 daily steps!
We sell as many units in a year as there are people in San Paulo Brazil (20.8 Million units), and we recycled more than 560 tonnes of carboard in 2024 and operate a ‘0 to landfill’ policy on centre.
We have the largest Nike Outlet store in the UK, and they have had over 4 million transactions and have sold 7.9 million items, more than the combined population of Latvia, Slovenia and Croatia! We are also home the only PANGAIA outlet store, and soon to be opening ESPA’s first ever bricks and mortar store.
Famous Faces
Sure, we've been graced by a few famous names over the years. No biggy. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the McDonalds at the centre 30 years ago when it was only a mere few thousand sqft. Since then, we've been entertained by the likes of Scott Thomas, Vicky Pattinson, The Saturdays, Clean Cut Kid and The Wanted, cooked up a storm with Simon Rimmer and got all '90s kids talking about the world's favourite purple dinosaur. What's next on the cards? Well, you'll have to wait and see...
Those Wow Moments
We've welcomed over 572 million of you to our centre over the years thanks to an incredible amount of events we're proud to have held.
From The Great Dress Up, Refresher Oaks, sports events including Food for Thoughts with Scott Thomas and Vicky Pattinson, ByRotation, a Motor Festival, Wimbledon watch events, BMX competition, the Coca Cola Truck (twice!), Food Festivals and so many more.
Part of Something Extraordinary
We know that to be the biggest Designer Outlet in the UK, it all depends on our people. Over the last 30 years, we've scaled ourselves up to becoming the employer of over 4,000 people, and are one of the largest employers in the North West. Employing local people across our over 160 brands and service teams such as our painters, gardeners and cleaners who keep us looking beautiful all year round.
We also work closely with the Kings Trust, JobCentre+ and Adecco to support people heading back to work. And we work with Cheshire College and the University of Chester to support retail and business students in developing their flourishing careers, and have hosted numerous student nights, recruitment evenings and even a Dragon's Den-esque competition for local schools and colleges in the North West.
Giving back has become part of our DNA. We've partnered with Sweaty Betty to bring you yoga classes, Asics and Under Armour to bring you HIIT classes and have helped raise money for charities like Passion for Learning, Koala North West and Hospice of The Good Shephard, that are all close to our heart.
The Smiles
And what would it all be without seeing people's smiles every day? Absolutely nothing.
Whether it's when our Guest Services go the extra mile to make your day, seeing you enjoy bringing your beloved pooch to shop or seeing you all find magical moments with your friends and families at one of our events, we always want everybody to leave happy.
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