All Outlet Eyes Turn to Asia - Value Retail News

PlaNNEd iN GErmaNY
Germany’s second wave
of outlet development
The first wave of German
outlet-center openings
occurred in the late 1990s,
and the so-called second
wave is now occurring
with at least five new
centers scheduled to open
in 2012 alone. A capsule
look at each of those
planned projects follows.
Designer Outlet Neumünster
McArthurGlen, which has managed
Designer Outlet Berlin since 2009, plans
to open its second German outlet center
in the fall of 2012. After completion of
phases 1 and 2, the 26,000-m2 Designer
Outlet Neumünster will have more than
130 shops and 2,500 parking spaces,
making it the largest outlet center in
Germany. More than 1,000 jobs will be
created in total.
The center’s site is 40 minutes from
Hamburg, directly on the A7 motorway,
which connects Germany with Denmark.
An estimated 5 million tourists visit
Hamburg each year, Germany’s secondlargest
city and its wealthiest. Another
5 million to 6 million tourists, mainly
German, visit the state of Schleswig-
Holstein.
To appeal to German and international
visitors, the developer is planning a designer,
premium, high-end brand mix and
an eclectic variety of food offers. MCG’s
other attractions are its architectural
concepts and emphasis on top customer
service.
Designer Outlet Soltau
Mutschler Development Group’s
planned Designer Outlet Soltau is in the
18 InternatIOnal Outlet JOurnal SummEr 2011
idyllic Luneburger Heide in Northern
Germany surrounded by 7 million
people within a 60 minute drive. The
10,000-m 2 center, scheduled to open
in late summer 2012, is on the A7 motorway,
near Hamburg, Hanover, and
Bremen. Another 5 million overnight
guests come to the region each year
and 1.5 million annual visitors come to
Heide Park, Germany’s second largest
Designer Outlet Neumünster
Designer Outlet Soltau
theme park.
“There is a strong overlap between
the visitors to Heide Park and the type
of customer we want to attract,” Sylvie
Mutschler says.
A co-marketing scheme has been
developed to increase the number of
visitors to both sites. Shoppers will
find discounts of up to 70 percent on
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