All Outlet Eyes Turn to Asia - Value Retail News

iTaliaN OuTlET
Italian outlet sector
learning and growing
By Filippo Maffioli,
President of italian Factory Outlet
Italy’s outlet landscape was bustling
in 2010.
Two new centers expanded the
industry’s reach inside the country last
year, reaching the Campania Region in
February with McArthurGlen Group’s
La Reggia Designer Outlet and Sicily in
November with Premium Retail’s Sicilian
Fashion Village.
Two existing facilities were also
enlarged: the Neinver project at Vicolungo
added some twenty new stores
and officially became part of The Style
Outlets, while the Veneto Designer
Outlet in Noventa di Piave added about
50 boutiques.
The good news is that 2011 is
expected to be equally dynamic. New
expansions and projects are already
under way in the south of the peninsula
at Eboli and Melilli. In addition, there
have been encouraging developments
on the tenancy front, with the arrival of
top Italian brands – first and foremost,
Armani, along with such established
international brands as Spain’s Desigual
and a new U.S. entry, the Gap.
Shoppers continue to respond
enthusiastically and retail reporters
never miss an opportunity to emphasize
the new shopping and consumer
trends at the heart of all this success.
It’s no coincidence that all the main
outlet operators in the region have
reported steadily increasing traffic and
turnover in the last two years, often in
double digits.
In 2011, the Observatory, established
in collaboration with SDA Bocconi, began
monitoring the Italian market. The
results should prove to be an extremely
useful source for all the outlet operators
– as well as the media in the region
– at both the national and international
level. The Observatory will publish an
analysis of its first results this autumn.
In conclusion, I would like to share
26 InternatIOnal Outlet JOurnal SummEr 2011
La Reggia Designer Outlet
comments on consumer trends by two
commission representatives:
the IntrOductIOn of the FOC
channel has really revolutionized Italian
consumer habits, rapidly becoming
a social and cultural phenomenon. In
a period characterized by widespread
economic crisis and a sharp drop in
consumption, the outlets are able to intercept
a large number of clients who are
unwilling to forego high quality products,
especially apparel. In this sales channel,
they are able to find the most prestigious
brands at discounted prices. The heavy
demand enables many players to coexist
and justifies the expectations of further
growth, especially in Southern Italy.
The response received from the
clientele in Campania, and even outside
the region, in this first year of business
of La Reggia Designer Outlet, has only
strengthened our belief in the format.
We inaugurated the mall on February
18, 2010 with an investment of over
€120 million, creating 1,000 jobs, and
in just one year, the outlet at Marcianise
can boast numbers that ensure the
initiative a position of leadership on the
Italian retail scene.
roberto meneghesso, County
manager for Italy, mcarthurGlen
In the laSt decade we have seen
new ways in which goods are transferred
to the consumer. In the past the
success of shopping citadels was based
on the price/quality ratio and on ensuring
that the experience is enjoyable. We
at Fashion Outlets believe that the time
has come to add a new feature to the
game in which the consumer can also
try out new ideas and share in the goods
once available to just a few.
With this view, the Sicilia Fashion
Village was inaugurated on November
25, 2010, with 120 stores, including
food and services featuring typical
Sicilian products and local crafts. This
kind of merchandising in the center
gives a strong link to the local region
and helps to develop tourism for the
entire community.
matteo Percassi, General manager,
Premium retail