For Designer Style, It's All Outlet - Value Retail News

For Designer Style, 

It’s All Outlet 

Plus: 

2011 Outlet center openings 

Outlet expansions fuel growth 

European projects updates 

Designer Outlet Athens 

Interview with J.W. Kaempfer 

Recap of Outlets Asia Conference 

Retail icon Marvin Traub

ALBERTA FERRETTI 

ARMANI 

BALLANTYNE 

BLUMARINE 

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BRIONI 

BROOKS BROTHERS 

BULGARI 

BURBERRY 

COSTUME NATIONAL 

DAMIANI 

DOLCE & GABBANA 

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA 

ESCADA 

ETRO 

FENDI 

GUCCI 

HUGO BOSS 

JIL SANDER 

JOHN RICHMOND 

KENZO 

LA PERLA 

MARNI 

MISSONI 

MONCLER 

MULBERRY 

PAUL SMITH 

POLO RALPH LAUREN 

PRADA 

ROBERTO CAVALLI 

SERGIO ROSSI 

TAG HEUER 

TRUSSARDI 

VALENTINO 

VERSACE 

WE ARE 

LISTENING 

We are a company of retailers with 17 years of experience 

building and managing designer outlet villages. Every week our 

20 centres bring millions of the best customers face-to-face with 

the finest collection of international brands and luxury labels. 

In June we opened our newest village in Athens, and we are 

currently under construction near Hamburg with our 21st centre 

(now 33% pre-leased) which will open in September 2012. We 

are also expanding our most popular centres near Düsseldorf 

(Roermond), Vienna (Parndorf), Milan/Genoa (Serravalle), 

Venice (Veneto), Florence (Barberino), Rome (Castel Romano) and 

Naples (La Reggia). 

Allow us to help you expand your business in the fastest-growing 

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Built by retailers who listen, 

for retailers who care about their business. 

Please contact Adrian Nelson on +44 (0)20 7535 2300 or 

a.nelson@mcarthurglen.com www.mcarthurglengroup.com

PAGE 6 PAGE 16 

PAGE 30 

STAFF 

International Outlet Journal is a publication for the 

non-U.S. factory outlet industry. Copyright © 2011 

CONTENTS 

Vol. 7 No. 4 INTERNATIONAl OuTlET JOuRNAl 

Fall 2011 

DAVID B. HENRy 

ICSC ChaIrman 

MICHAEl P. KERCHEVAl 

ICSC PreSIdent & CeO 

RuDOlPH E. MIlIAN, SCSM, SCMD 

ICSC SenIOr VP 

ICSC EuROPE 

London, +44 20 7976 3100 

icsc.europe@icsc.org 

ICSC/IOJ 

2519 n. mcmullen Booth rd. 

Suite 510-356 

Clearwater, FL 33761 

+1 727 781 7557 

lINDA HuMPHERS 

editor in Chief/director ext. 3 

lhumphers@icsc.org 

RANDy GDOVIN 

art director ext. 4 

rgdovin@icsc.org 

KAREN KNOBElOCH 

advertising Prod. mgr. ext. 2 

kknobeloch@icsc.org 

SAlly STEPHENSON 

Senior advertising executive 

+1 847 835 1617 

Fax: +1 847 835 5196 

sstephenson@icsc.org 

iICSC PUBLICATION 

In s I d e 

4 Europe is flush with FOC openings 

6 MCG’s Designer Outlet Athens opens 

9 Neinver’s Coruna The Style Outlets opens 

10 Melilli and Nailloux set 2011 openings 

12 Retail icon Marvin Traub speaks on outlets 

16 Roermond expansion ices a designer cake 

17 MCG’s J.W. Kaempfer talks of outlet future 

18 European expansions fuel outlet growth 

20 European project updates 

22 Designer Outlet Luxembourg opens 

24 European development briefs 

26 Full recap of ICSC’s Outlet Asia Conference 

29 EWB and APOC form JV for China 

30 RDM’s Florentia Village opens in JingJin 

32 Snapshot on China: 3 researchers report 

Advertiser Index 

destiny USa .......................................... 19 

Fashion house ..................................... BC 

Fashion Outlets of Chicago ................... 15 

Freeport retail ..................................... 21 

henderson Global Investors ............... IBC 

mcarthurGlen designer Outlets ..........IFC 

neinver ................................................. 11 

Stable Outlet management ................... 23 

Value retail ............................................ 5 

Value retail news Spring ..................... 33 

Fall 2011 InternAtIOnAl Outlet JOurnAl 3

EurOpEaN OpENiNgS 

europe flush with new FOCs 

Six grand openings and 

at least 3 expansions 

add 162,000 m2 of 

outlet GLA to Europe 

By lINDA HuMPHERS 

Editor in Chief 

The economy might be wretched 

and funding as scarce as hens’ teeth, 

but outlet developers have hosted 

at least six delirious parties this year in 

celebration of their newly opened GLA. 

Depending on how you count them, 

by the end of this year four, five or 

maybe even six phase 1 outlet centers 

will have opened in Europe. 

Four of those phase 1 openings are 

projects in France, Greece, Sicily and 

Spain that have added more than 88,000 

m2 to Europe’s total outlet GLA. (See 

stories on Coruna, ˜ 

Athens, Melilli and Nail- 

loux in this issue). 

McArthurGlen, which has been rolling 

out new space with a vengeance, 

also relaunched the former Factory 

Shopping Messancy in April. The 

center was completely renovated and 

remerchandised to Designer Outlet 

Luxembourg, but it continued operating 

during the extreme makeover. Even 

though MCG calls the opening a phase 

1 project, it didn’t add new GLA to 

the industry total, so we’ll opt not to 

include it in the new-projects list. 

4 InternAtIOnAl Outlet JOurnAl Fall 2011 

Designer Outlet Athens 

Designer Outlet Parndorf 

Another project that might or might 

not be included on the phase 1 opening 

list is the 56,000-m2 Adana Optimum 

Outlet Center. The reason for 

our hesitation is that this center is in 

Turkey, and we’re never sure where to 

put Turkey – in Europe or the Middle 

East. But any outlet center that can 

draw 280,000 shoppers during its grand 

opening week deserves to be on the list. 

There were also three significant 

expansions to McArthurGlen projects in 

Austria, Italy and The Netherlands, which 

added another 17,000 m2 to the total. Expansions 

are proving a good way to make 

a strong center stronger. In the U.S., Simon 

Property Group recently announced 

it would expand four outlet centers by 

a total of nearly 42,000 m2. In some 

markets, expansions are a way of telling 

would-be competitors to look elsewhere 

for new development opportunities. 

Looking forward, VRN/IOJ counts 18 

planned projects in 10 European countries 

that have scheduled openings for 2012. If 

all 18 planned projects were to open, even 

though history shows they all won’t, they 

would total more than 370,000 m 2 . 

Who’s planning all these outlet centers? 

Neinver is busy with four; Fashion 

House with three; Promos and Rioja 

with two each; and rounding out that 

group, with one center each are Evo 

Land Development, Hines, IPEC, ITG/ 

One Outlet Services, McArthurGlen 

Group, Mutschler Group and Stable 

Outlet Management. 

Germany is the biggest hotspot for 

2012 outlet-center openings – four 

projects are scheduled to open there next 

year. France, Italy, Russia and Slovakia 

each could see two centers opening in 

2012, and the remaining centers planned 

for 2012 are in Finland, Poland, Portugal, 

Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine. c 

European Phase 1 Outlet Openings in 2011 

CENTER lOCATION DEVElOPER 2011 OPENING GlA SF GlA M 2 

Adana Optimum Outlet Center adana, turkey renaissance/ 

amstar Global partners 

april 602,800 56,060 

~ ~ 

~ 

Coruna The Style Outlets 

Coruna The Style Outlets La Coruna, Spain neinver may 137,800 12,815 

Designer Outlet Athens Yalou, Greece mcarthurGlen Group June 226,000 21,018 

Melilli Outlet Siracusa, Sicily Promos SrL September 258,342 24,026 

Nailloux Fashion Village nailloux, France SanOUX SCI november 333,100 30,978 

Total 2011 phase 1 GlA 1,558,042 144,897 

Expansions to Existing Outlet Projects Opening in 2011 

Designer Outlet Roermond, Phase 3 roermond, the netherlands mcarthurGlen Group august 77,760 7,200 

Designer Outlet Parndorf, phase 4 Parndorf, austria mcarthurGlen Group September 57,240 5,300 

la Reggia Designer Outlet, phase 2B naples, Italy mcarthurGlen Group September 48,000 4,500 

Total 2011 expansion GlA 183,000 17,000 

Source: VRN/IOJ

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graNd OpENiNgS 

Greeks finding lots to like 

at sunny center in Athens 

McArthurGlen’s 21,000-m 2 Designer Outlets Athens has been exceeding projected 

sales and footfall by more than 20 percent since its opening in June. 


McArthurGlen’s newest 

outlet center brightens up 

Greece’s dim economy with 

big discounts and a sparkling 

food offer. 

As the saying goes, when the going gets 

tough, the tough go shopping. And lately, 

the tough are going outlet shopping. 

That old adage has been proven true in toughtimes 

Greece ever since McArthurGlen Designer 

Outlet Athens opened on June 2. Nearly three 

months after the grand opening, sales in the 

center were 22 percent above expectations with 

no relief in sight, despite the country’s famously 

beleaguered economy. 

And as testimony to the healing powers of outlet 

shopping, these sales are being driven primarily 

by Greek shoppers until the tourist season starts, 

according to Eric Decouvelaere, the developer’s 

director for Southern Europe. 

“One of the things we are most pleased about 

is the extremely happy feedback from the shoppers,” 

said Decouvelaere, who oversees 

10 centers throughout Italy, France, 

Belgium and now Greece. “We have 78 

stores open and we have been careful to 

merchandise this center with the shoppers 

in mind.” 

To that end, the 21,000-m2 center 

has four types of tenancy: international 

luxury, international fashion, leading 

Greek brands and food tenants. 

The center’s 10 restaurants provide 

everything from ice cream to cafes 

to sit-down restaurants, and they are 

an obvious draw for locals, even on 

Sundays when Greek law doesn’t 

allow retail shops to open. “We have 

4,000 to 5,000 people come on Sundays 

just to meet up with their friends 

over a meal or a snack,” Decouvelaere 

said. “And then they window shop 

together.” 

To optimize the consumer’s experience, 

the developer has created

the McArthurGlen Retail Academy, 

which helps brands hone all aspects 

of retailing, from staffing and training, 

to inventory management, pricing, 

merchandising, store design, and, in 

particular, customer service. In fact, 

Decouvelaere and other MCG executives 

have strong retail backgrounds. 

His experience includes positions with 

the Printemps department store chain 

and luxury textile company Dormeuil, 

where he launched a line of bespoke 

men’s suits. 

When completely tenanted, the €100 

million center – MCG’s sixth in three 

years – will have 110 tenants. 

Located in Spata, 30 minutes from 

central Athens, the center is designed 

in the neoclassical style in pale pinks 

and soft yellows, with stone flooring 

and fountains. The buildings, composed 

of scaled-down urban units 

rather than a monolithic shopping 

structure, are extensively varied and 

form a succession of open air spaces 

and sheltered walkways leading to 

shops, clearings, seating areas and 

cafés. Although the center has two 

levels – three, really since the 1,350 

parking spaces are underground – the 

project’s pleasing scale helps Designer 

Outlets Athens fit aesthetically into 

the area’s residential and agricultural 

surroundings. The center’s architectural 

elements include small roofs, pergolas, 

small doorways and differentiation of 

each shop unit. 

The main thing about this center, Decouvelaere 

said, is that “It’s just a very 

cool place. You just have to see it.” c 

McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Athens tenants include: 

Accessorize 

Adidas 

Alberta Ferretti 

A.L.E. 

American Vintage 

Anna Maria Mazaraki 

Attrattivo 

Billabong 

Bill Cost 

BoConcept 

Body Talk 

Brooks Brothers 

BSB 

Chipie 

Class Roberto Cavalli 

Colin’s 

Colori 

Columbia 

Diesel 

Docksteps 

DPAM 

Edward Jeans 

Element 

Eye Q 

Fila 

Gant 

Gianfranco Ferre 

Ginestra 

Guess 

Gutteridge 

Haralas 

House & Travel 

Hugo Boss 

Hunter 

Iceberg 

Interni 

Architecturally, Designer Outlets Athens incorporates urban features such as 

small roofs and doorways, open-air walkways and differentiated shop fronts for a pleasing 

pedestrian scale. 

Kalogirou 

Kem 

Lacoste 

Lapin 

Lussile 

Luna 

Mandarino 

Marasil 

Matou France 

Mefisto 

Moschino 

My Home 

Nara Camicie 

Navy Green 

New Balance 

Nike 

Nine West 

Notos Galleries 

Oxette 

Oxford Company 

Papasotiriou 

Polo Ralph Lauren 

Reebok 

Replay 

Rococo 

Salvatore Ferragamo 

Sebago 

Skechers 

Staff 

Symbol 

Toi & moi 

Tommy Hilfiger 

Trussardi 

Tsakiris Mallas 

Vardas 

Venus Victoria 

Versace 

Waks, 

Yazz 

restaurants & Cafes: 

Ambiente Caffe 

Corso Como 

Cucina Italiana 

Haagen Dazs Café 

I Grill 

Il Barretto 

Meat Me 

Palmie Bistro 

Piazza di Nero 

Ya Su 



neinver’s Spanish Style Outlet 

Neinver’s signature outlet center design is seen at Coruña The Style Outlets, where the 

enclosed mall is modern, with lots of glass for a well-lit interior, plenty of seating, play areas 

and a free Wi-fi lounge. 


Coruña The Style Outlets opens 

in Galicia to crowds of shoppers 

who have come to expect a 

comfy environment and top 

brands from Neinver. 

Spanish developer Neinver opened its fifth 

outlet center in Spain and 12th in Europe 

this summer. The 135,600-sf Coruña The 

Style Outlets in Galicia is also the first to open in 

Spain under Neinver’s Style Outlet concept, which 

is aimed at markets that are more demanding in 

terms of trends and style, high quality and the overall 

shopping experience. 

Shoppers were obviously hungry for the concept: 

When it opened in May, more than 25,000 visitors 

flocked to the center in the first four days, ravenous 

for deals, bargains and selection at the enclosed 

center’s three dozen outlet stores. 

Their pent up shopping lust drove sales to triple 

their projected rate during the weekdays, and on the 

weekend, sales doubled projections. Management 

at Cortefiel Group’s Fifty Factory reported that the 

store’s sales had far outstripped expectations. 

Manuel Lagares, CEO of Neinver, said he expects 

Coruña The Style Outlets to become “the benchmark 

outlet center for the north of 

Spain…We couldn’t have chosen a 

better location: Galicia, the birthplace 

of Spanish fashion.” 

Galicia has become important 

in Spain as the home of Inditex, 

which is Europe’s largest textile 

company and parent of global 

retail giant Zara. With that kind of 

inspiration, Neinver’s leasing team 

knew it had to bring in the chains 

with drawing power, including such 

international brands as Amichi, 

Callaghan, Calvin Klein, Geox, 

Guess, Hush Puppies, Jerem, Puma, 

Varlion and the first Element outlet 

in the world. Prestigious Spanish 

brands tenanting the center include 

Caramelo, the Cortefiel Group, 

Desigual, Mayoral, Mustang, Punto 

Blanco, Roberto Verino and Trucco. 

In addition to merchandising its 

centers with an appealing tenant 

mix, Neinver is known for creating 

a relaxed and easy environment

Coruna The Syle Outlets has a tenant 

line-up that includes such international 

brands as Amichi and Geox. 

for shoppers, and this new center is no 

exception. It features large areas for 

relaxing, a Wi-Fi lounge, restaurants 

and other food services (including some 

with terraced seating), play areas for 

children up to age 3 and a staffed playroom 

for children 4 to 13, with activities 

designed especially for them. The 

sustainable, environmentally friendly, 

energy-saving architecture optimizes 

natural light and is Building Research 

Establishment Environmental Assessment 

Method (BREEAM) certified. 

In design, the enclosed mall follows 

Neinver’s established footprint of 

modern styling, lots of glass, comfortable 

temperatures, plenty of seating and 

nearly 900 parking spaces. 

Neinver’s other outlet centers in 

Spain are Factory Madrid Las Rozas, 

Factory Madrid Getafe, Factory Madrid 

San Sebastián de los Reyes, and Factory 

Sevilla Aeropuerto. Neinver also operates 

outlet centers in Germany, Italy, 

Poland and Portugal. A center being 

developed with MAB in Roppenheim, 

France is due to open in 2012. c 

~ 

TENANTS AT CORuNA THE STylE OuTlETS INCluDE: 

amichi 

Callaghan 

Calvin Klein Jeans 

Calvin Klein Underwear 

Caramelo 

Cortefiel 

desigual 

egomundi Veracruz 

element 

en Panes 

Geox 

Grupo hergar 

Guess 

hush Puppies 

Inuvik 

Jerem 

Kiko 

Kina Fernández 

Krack 

La Perfumería 

Laga 

mango 

mayoral 

menbur 

mustang 

nike 

Panama Jack 

Pikolinos-martinelli 

Puma 

Punto Blanco 

roberto Verino 

trucco 

UnderBlue 

Varlion 



4 th Quarter Grand Openings 

Early opening set for Melilli Outlet 

The 9,600-m 2 phase 1 of Melilli Outlet, a Fashion District 

brand, was scheduled to open September 16, after 

IOJ’s press time, with 104 stores. The center is just 10 

km from Siracusa, one of the most economically dynamic areas 

of Sicily. The sweeping project will be part of the Belvedere 

business district, which already has Auchan Shopping Center, 

Paradise Acquapark, Decathlon, Media World, a hotel, a sports 

center, an aquatic park and an office complex. 

Strategically located near the splendid beaches of the Ionian 

Sea and the extraordinary archeological sites of Siracusa, Melilli 

Outlet will draw shoppers from the 3.5 million tourist arrivals 

a year and more than 1 million households within a 60-minute 

drive. The center can be easily reached from the Belvedere-Siracusa 

Nord exit of the Superstrada 114, which is the four-lane 

continuation of the Autostrada A18 from Catania. 

Melilli Outlet’s modern design has an elliptical shape and 

multiple levels with parking on each. Open terraces overlook 

a large central plaza protected by a moveable roof that 

ensures a comfortable shopping experience in all seasons. A 

4,300-m 2 (GLA) phase 2 with 25 stores is also planned. 

Among the tenants are Max Mara Group’s first Diffusione 

Nailloux Fashion Village, the 31,000-m 2 outlet 

center being developed by Advantail and Corio, has 

begun turning space over to tenants in anticipation of 

the grand opening set for November 23. 

Located in the heart of the French Midi-Pyrenees, near 

Toulouse, Nailloux Fashion Village is expecting 1.7 million 

shoppers to visit the center in its first year, with that number 

quickly growing to more than 3 million. 

The center, which has 1,800 parking spaces, will attract 

shoppers from the 2.4 million people who live within a 

90-minute drive and from the 18 million tourists who visit 

the Midi-Pyrenees every year. 

The center is 20 minutes from Toulouse, which has the 

second-largest economy in France after Paris. It is also just 

40 minutes from the fortified city of Carcossone, which dates 

back to 100 B.C. and is the third most popular tourist destination 

in France, drawing 4 million visitors annually. 

The center will open at least 75 percent occupied with 

more than 90 tenants. It is designed in the style of an authentic 

Lauragais village with a charming central square, arcades 

and restaurants with terraces. 

Corio is the financial partner with a 75 percent ownership 

stake in Nailloux Fashion Village, and Advantail is handling 


Melilli Outlet, which was set to open in September, is part of 

the sweeping Belevedere business district in Siracusa, Sicily. 

Tessile store in Sicily, expected to be the largest in Italy. 

Tecnall is the owner of the center and the exclusive licensee 

of the Fashion District trademark in Sicily. Tecnall’s use of the 

Fashion District trademark marks the first time such a licensing 

agreement has been put into place in Italy. Promos S.r.l., is 

handling marketing and management of the project. c 

grand opening draws close 

for Nailloux Fashion Village 

Advantail starated construction of Nailloux Fashion Village in 

March and plans to open the center 75-percent leased in November. 

the development, marketing and management of the center. 

Advantail started construction in March of this year on 

another outlet center, The West Paris Outlet, a 20,000-m 2 

project scheduled to open in April 2013. That center is being 

developed with Catinvest at the entrance of Grand Plaisir, a 

large regional mall that’s west of Paris, near Versailles. c

We look after the brands as if they were our own. 

All the brands have their own interest but just one joins them all: selling. 

That’s why 700 of the world’s best brands put their trust in NEINVER. Because we are 

the second largest outlet operator in Europe, managing more than 243,000 sq.m. GLA and 

over 1,000 stores. Because we manage 11 outlet centers in Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal 

and Germany and 5 more about to be opened. 

And above all, because we make a commitment to our retailers to support them with all 

our experience. We recognize that the success of a brand is also ours. 

This is what has made us leaders. 

OUTLETS WITH 

THEIR OWN STYLE

iOJ iNTErViEw 

retail icon Marvin traub 

speaks on outlet retailing 

Now working with 

Value Retail, the venerable 

retailer-turned-advisor 

gives his views on how 

the outlet sector can 

thrive and flourish. 

By linda Humphers 


If there is one person around the 

globe who understands how to attract 

upscale shoppers, it’s Marvin 

Traub, the legendary former president 

of Bloomingdale’s. During his 41 years 

with the chain – including 22 years as 

its president – Traub made clear his 

conviction that retailing should be fun, 

energizing and compelling, in short, 

entertaining. 

He was one of the first Americans 

to begin importing European furniture 

and fashion to the U.S., beginning 

in the 1950s. For his involvement in 

the French economy he was awarded 

the Order of Merit and the Legion 

d’Honneur. The latter award also 

recognized his service in the U.S. Army 

in World War II; he was wounded at 

Metz when he was 19 and subsequently 

spent 15 months in the hospital. He 

has also received the Commendatore de 

la Republic for helping to build Italy’s 

economy. 

In 1992, shortly after he left Bloomingdale’s, 

he founded Marvin Traub 

Associates, a consulting firm with 

expertise in global retailing, marketing 

and consumer goods. MT’s lengthy list 

of luminary clients includes Banana Republic, 

Coach, Elie Tahari, Gap, Guess, 

Harvey Nichols, Missoni, Nautica, 

Ralph Lauren, Selfridges, Stuart Weitzman, 

Tommy Hilfiger and Tumi. 

Traub also served on the board of the 


Marvin Traub 

former American outlet-center developer 

Prime Retail for 10 years, and he 

recently joined forces with Value Retail, 

which operates nine designer outlet villages 

throughout Europe. 

Now 86, he is the author of two books, 

“Like No Other Store” and “Like No 

Other Career,” a chronicle of his second 

career as a consultant and his account of 

the future trends in retailing. In August, 

he spoke with IOJ about outlet retailing. 

Here’s what he had to say. 

n n n 

IOJ: You have a reputation as a 

master merchandiser, the sage of 

bricks and mortar, the man who 

made Bloomingdales into a unique 

retail environment. But earlier this 

year your company invested in Ixtens, 

which is a technology company 

that provides services to online 

retailers. Clearly you see a place 

for all inventory channels. Can you 

talk about the meshing of inventory 

channels and where outlets fit? 

MT: In my book I talk about retailing 

requiring a multi-strategy approach. 

Most of the successful retailers – Saks, 

Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom – have 

a combination of bricks and mortar, 

outlet, internet and catalog distribution 

channels. It’s quite evident and research 

shows that people who shop across 

channels spend more money than those 

who don’t. So all of these channels help 

create a better customer. 

n n n 

IOJ: Do you think the outlet channel 

is essential to a brand’s growth? 

If so, at what point should the brand 

expand into this channel? 

MT: Well-run outlet chains serve 

a valuable function, not only as part 

of the brands’ growth, but also to 

dispose of excess inventory. Brands 

should expand into outlets as soon as 

they have a significant presence in a 

market, whether it’s the U.S., Europe 

or Asia. 

With so many brands moving to Asia, 

there is going to be a need for more 

outlets there, and we do know that 

Chinese consumers enjoy outlet shopping. 

I believe that outlets are essential 

as long as their outlets are authentic. 

Unauthentic goods not only weaken 

the store, they weaken the center and 

ultimately they weaken the brand. By 

that I mean that the brand can produce 

for the outlet stores – that can certainly 

be part of the strategy – but the quality 

and styling has to be in direct relation to 

the full-price products. 

Value Retail understands this point 

and requires that all the goods sold 

in their centers be authentic. When 

shoppers from Shanghai are routinely 

spending €5,000 to €10,000 per visit 

at Bicester Village, it’s because they 

know they’re getting authentic merchandise. 

n n n 

IOJ: Your list of the most compelling 

outlet tenants seems primarily 

high-end. Do you see upscale 

shoppers as the main driver of outlet 

retailing? 

MT: Most of the successful outlet 

centers have a balance between bridge

Value Retail’s Bicester Village in England is said to be the most productive outlet village in Europe, with sales of more than 

€2,080 per square foot. 

and midprice retailers, but the greatest 

way to create footfall is to have luxury 

brands at outlet prices. The excitement 

of those names is highly appealing. 

They’re the magnets that draw shoppers 

to the centers. Not everyone shops in 

those stores, but the presence of pure 

luxury adds spice to the experience. 

n n n 

IOJ: The outlet industry is doing 

very well, especially in today’s 

economic climate. With your strong 

department-store background, 

particularly from a parent company 

(Macy’s) that was famous for giving 

agita to outlet chains, did you think 

15 or 20 years ago that this industry 

had legs? 

MT: Fifteen years ago I was on the 

board of Prime Retail, so outlet retailing 

absolutely was on my mind then. 

On the other hand, 25 years ago 

when it started in the U.S., the department 

stores were very concerned about 

the impact it would have on full-price 

retailing. Now the department stores 

want to go into the outlet business! 

Now we all recognize it as an important 

distribution channel. That opposition in 

the early days, though, may have helped 

establish the outlet sector’s differentiation 

and authenticity. 

n n n 

IOJ: Why do you think the industry 

is now successful? Do you see outlet 

retailing as a distribution channel or 

a shopping center sector? 

MT: The answer is complex – outlet 

retailing is both a distribution channel 

and a shopping center sector. It’s the 

only retail sector that is both. What’s interesting 

to me is that there is a very limited 

number of strong players – you have 

only Simon, Tanger, McArthurGlen and 

Value Retail. It’s a very small industry. 

Traditional shopping centers have 

declining traffic, whereas outlet centers 

are seeing increasing traffic. The sector 

has great growth potential and it gives 

the customer a new offering. Outlet 

developers see themselves as partners 

with the brands, which is unusual in retail 

real estate. Value Retail, for instance, has 

these strong retail teams in every center 

that work directly with the tenants to 

improve their performance. That model 

is more like a department store, but that 

has to be the way successful developers 

approach this business. 

n n n 

IOJ: What factors would you say 

separate the top performing outletcenter 

portfolios from the ones that 

struggle? 

MT: Two things immediately come 

to mind: marketing and attention to 

tourism. Both are hugely important to 

outlet-center performance, and those 

two aspects are quite different from 

full-price malls. 

Outlet centers must market beyond 

the local area and they must make use 

of all the social networking and technology 

tools they can find. 

Understanding the importance of 

tourism is what distinguishes a Value 

Retail from developers with less vision. 

Bicester Village, for instance, is one 

of England’s top tourism attractions – 

approximately 60 percent of Bicester 

Village customers are tourists. This is 

no accident. Value Retail sends teams 

around the world to do nothing but at- 

(continued on page 14) 


iOJ iNTErViEw 

(continued from page 13) 

tract tourists. They advertise in and are 

covered by top fashion magazines, and 

their social networking content is available 

in more than 15 languages. 

I see five keys to operating a successful 

outlet-center portfolio – and I 

base these on the way Value Retail does 

business because it has what we believe 

to be the most productive portfolio in 

the world with average sales of $1,200 

[€866] per square foot, and sales at Bicester 

Village approach $3,000 [€2,080] 

per square foot. 

Here are the five keys: 

l Merchandise the center with an appealing 

mix of international and local brands. 

l Set up standards to ensure shoppers 

that all product sold in the center is 

authentic. 

l Create an environment in which the 

level of customer service and brand presentation 

makes shopping a memorable 

experience. There should be great emphasis 

on the center’s design, which must 

include amenities that extend customer 

service and architecture that enhances 

luxury brands’ full-price position. 

l Develop a unique travel and tourism 

marketing platform. 

l Owners should operate their own 

centers. 

n n n 

IOJ: What do you see for the 

future of outlet retailing in terms of 

growth and how it could or should 

evolve? 

MT: We’re in a difficult and challenging 

period for retailing because of the 

uncertainty in the domestic and European 

markets. Full-price retailing is mature 

and few shopping centers are being built 

in the U.S. and Europe, though there are 

still opportunities, especially in Canada. 

On the other hand, the emerging markets 

of Asia, India, South America and the 

Middle East can be a bright future for the 

outlet sector if the operators have a clear, 

defined strategy that recognizes changes in 

the retail climate and can provide a different 

experience for the customer. 

A long time ago, I believed that 

retailing is entertainment. I still believe 

that, but not too many centers create a 

comfortable gathering place for tourists. 

Being entertaining applies to the brands, 

too, because they have to be disciplined 

about the look of their stores and how 

they run them. So there’s a bright future 

ahead for those who execute well. c 


With tenants that include Celine, Jimmy Choo and Versace, Value Retail’s LaVallee 

Village, which is in Disneyland Resort Paris, is one of the most productive outlet centers 

in Europe 

Marvin Traub’s top 50 brands 

MARVIN TRAuB HAS compiled a list of 50 fashion and luxury brands he 

considers essential for outlet centers hoping to attract global shoppers. 

Traub says if these brands can find the right outlet centers, “they will 

create tourism shopping destinations in their own right…These brands 

are crucial to today’s sophisticated outlet offer. They are the foundation 

brands that appeal to the growing number of international customers.” 

Here is the list, in alphabetical order: 

1. aquascutum 

2. Bottega Veneta 

3. Brioni 

4. Bulgari 

5. Burberry 

6. Calvin Klein 

7. Celine 

8. Chloe 

9. Church’s 

10. Coach 

11. diane von Furstenberg 

12. dolce & Gabbana 

13. donna Karan 

14. dunhill 

15. ermenegildo Zegna 

16. escada 

17. estee Lauder 

18. etro 

19. Fendi 

20. Ferragamo 

21. Furla 

22. Gieves & hawkes 

23. Giorgio armani 

24. Givenchy 

25. Gucci 

26. hugo Boss 

27. Jaeger 

28. Jimmy Choo 

29. La Perla 

30. Lacoste 

31. Longchamp 

32. Loro Piana 

33. marc Jacobs 

34. marni 

35. maxmara 

36. michael Kors 

37. missoni 

38. mulberry 

39. Paul Smith 

40. Prada 

41. ralph Lauren 

42. roberto Cavalli 

43. tag heuer 

44. thomas Pink 

45. tod’s 

46. tommy hilfiger 

47. tumi 

48. Valentino 

49. Versace 

50. Yves St. Laurent

OVER THE TOP 

UNDER THE RADAR 

FASHION OUTLETS OF CHICAGO 

ROSEMONT 305. 932. 6202 

WWW.FASHIONOUTLETSOFCHICAGO.COM

OErMONd 

roermond expansion is 

icing on a designer cake 

McArthurGlen says 

its thriving project in 

Holland is already the 

most popular designer 

outlet center in 

northwestern Europe. 

The 7,200-m 2 phase 3 of 

McArthurGlen’s Designer Outlet 

Roermond in The Netherlands 

that opened on August 18 has brought 

the center’s total GLA to 35,000 m 2 , 

which is certainly worth crowing about. 

But in addition to the extra footprint 


and 35 new tenants, the expansion is 

also expected to ratchet up the center’s 

annual visitor numbers to 4.2 million 

from the present 3.8 million. 

The center is enormously popular 

with German shoppers, thanks to its 

location just 30 minutes from Dusseldorf. 

As a McArthurGlen press 

release states, the center is “Northern 

and Western Europe’s most visited 

outlet center with 20 percent of the 

market’s share.” 

The center has certainly benefited 

from the emerging economies in 

Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle 

East and South America, with spend 

from international shoppers more 

than doubling in the first six months 

The phase 3 expansion at McArthurGlen’s Designer Outlet Roermond, which opened in August, 

doubles the 10-year-old center’s original GLA, bringing it to 35,000 m 2 . 

of 2011. According to Global Blue, 

a financial services company that 

advises retailers on shopping trends, 

Chinese visitors were the top spenders 

at Designer Outlet Roermond 

during this period, with their spending 

almost doubling compared to the 

same period in 2010. 

Speaking of doubling, the center 

now has nearly twice the GLA 

it opened with in 2001 – 17,500 

m 2 . The center is still growing – an 

11,000-m 2 phase 4 is scheduled to 

open in 2014. Although the center’s 

first phase is part of Henderson 

Global Investors European Outlet 

Mall Fund, the expansions are not. 

A new Burberry flagship store, triple 

the size of its former store 

in the center, is the phase 3 

anchor at Roermond. The 

35 new tenants – which 

brings the center’s total 

to 150 stores – include 

premier brands Moncler, 

Calvin Klein Collection, 

Navyboot, Baldinini and 

Abro; young fashion and 

jeanswear brands Desigual, 

Guess, Mexx, Ben Sherman, 

Bench, Trussardi Jeans, 

True Religion and River 

Woods; childrenswear brand 

Vingino; casual brands Fossil, 

O’Neill, Victorinox, and 

Converse and Gant shoes. 

Premium brand Furla will 

open in the fourth quarter. 

Expansions at two other 

McArthurGlen centers 

were due to open in September, 

after IOJ’s press 

time: a 5,300-m 2 phase 4 at 

Designer Outlet Parndorf 

in Austria, and a 4,500m 

2 phase 2B at La Reggia 

Designer Outlet in Naples. 

See page 18 for more expansion 

updates. c

McArthurGlen’s Kaempfer 

discusses outlets’ future 

The industry continues 

to evolve and improve, 

he said, pointing out 

that each country has 

its own outlet flavor. 

By linda Humphers 


Anyone who knows J.W. Kaempfer 

knows a few things about 

him: He’s as close to a modern 

day Renaissance man as any of us are 

likely to meet; he goes by “Joey,” he 

loves to sail, he values loyalty, and he’s 

one tough businessman. When he came 

to Europe from Washington, D.C., in 

1993 to found McArthurGlen Group 

and bring U.S.-style outlet centers across 

the pond, he already had a successful 

company that specialized in developing 

first-class urban office buildings. 

He has never been one to do anything 

in a small way, so naturally he has 

led McArthurGlen to become Europe’s 

largest developer, owner and manager 

of designer outlet shopping villages, 

with a portfolio of 20 centers totaling 

more than 5 million sf (46,500 m2). It is 

the third largest outlet company in the 

world, behind Simon Property Group 

and Tanger Factory Outlet Centers. 

Like most successful entrepreneurs, 

Kaempfer brings many interests to the 

table, including a passion for architecture, 

occasionally even lecturing at 

Harvard Graduate School of Design. 

Over the past 30 years his companies 

have worked with many of the world’s 

outstanding architects, including I.M. 

Pei and Lord Richard Rogers, as well 

as exceptional architects specializing in 

historic preservation. Paul Goldberger, 

architecture critic for the venerable New 

Yorker magazine, wrote, “for people 

like Joey Kaempfer...architecture is not a 

choice between art and commerce, but a 

J.W. Kaempfer 

way of embracing both these realms.” 

When approached by IOJ, he quickly 

agreed to be interviewed, with the caveat 

that he might not answer any of the questions. 

J.W. Kaempfer always has a viewpoint 

– often humorous, always candid and 

perpetually insightful – quite unlike anyone 

else’s, so IOJ was happy to go along for the 

conversational ride. By the way, he ended 

up answering most of the questions. 

IOJ: You’ve been a part of the 

European outlet industry since Day 

One. Is this recent tight credit market 

any worse than the previous ones? 

JWK: We haven’t had a terrible time 

getting funding, but it’s taking longer 

than it used to. But I don’t know that 

we’re typical. 

IOJ: Generally speaking, how does 

outlet retailing in Europe compare 

with the U.S. sector? 

JWK: I don’t really know how the U.S. 

outlet industry works. When I’m in the 

U.S., I visit outlet centers, and we seem 

to be completely different. We have a 

different design sensibility, a different 

lease structure, a different tenant mix, 

although there are more crossovers now. 

The U.S. is vastly larger than Europe. 

When I first started developing outlet 

centers in Europe, I was told that we 

had to be at last 60 miles from the nearest 

department store. In Great Britain 

if I went 60 miles, I was already overlap- 

iOJ iNTErViEw 

ping another department store. Sometimes 

I was in another country. 

IOJ: How many more outlet centers 

and how much more GLA can 

Europe absorb? Do you have a feel 

for opportunities in Russia? Asia? 

Latin America? Where will McArthurGlen 

go next? 

JWK: I think Great Britain is probably 

built out, but there might be a place for 

one or two more. Throughout Europe 

there are some odd places here and 

there that can accommodate another 

center. There are a lot of opportunities 

in Russia, Asia, Latin America, wherever 

there are big populations and wealth. But 

would you want to open an outlet center 

in Mexico now? No way. Ten years ago 

we tried to get a foothold in Russia, but it 

was still too early there. We couldn’t make 

any kind of deal on a piece of land. So 

we walked away. The truth is, we’re not 

going anywhere. I personally don’t want 

to travel anymore, and when we offered 

the chance to younger people in the 

company, they chose quality of life. They 

didn’t want to go anywhere, either. 

IOJ: How long can the outlet gig 

keep going? Does it have legs? Is it 

really just the flavor of the month, 

the passing phase that was predicted 

when you first joined the industry? 

JWK: It’s not the flavor of the month. 

The fact is, stretching dollars is how 

people shop now. We see no evidence that 

they stop shopping at outlets when they 

have more money to spend. When they’ve 

bought their kid a great pair of sneakers at 

40 percent less, they don’t think to themselves, 

“Oh, let’s pay more next time.” 

We’re reinventing ourselves as we go. 

Our center in Athens gets 4,000 to 5,000 

people every Sunday just for the food. The 

shops aren’t allowed to open, but people 

love coming there with their families, window 

shopping, enjoying the great food. 

The industry is constantly improving and 

giving shoppers what they want. c 


ExpaNSiONS 

expansions fuel outlet growth 

Nine expansions in 

the next two years 

could add nearly 

85,000 m 2 to Europe’s 

outlet GLA. 

If most of the expansions planned 

for existing outlet centers in 

Europe open, the industry will 

have to thank McArthurGlen for 

the increased square footage. The 

London based developer, Europe’s 

largest, opened three expansions 

this year and plans another six in the 

next two years. Opening this year for 

MCG: 

l 7,200-m2 phase 3 at Designer 

Outlet Roermond (The Netherlands) 

l 5,300-m2 phase 4 at Deisgner 

Outlet Parndorf (Austria) 

l 4,500-m2 phase 2B at La Reggia 

Designer Outlet, Naples c 

Planned Expansions to Existing Outlet Centers, 2012-2014 

NAME CITy COuNTRy DEVElOPER GlA m 2 GlA sf OPENING 

Roses Fashion Outlet Zagreb Croatia dayland Group 8,521 92,030 2012 

Designer Outlets Wolfsburg Wolfsburg Germany OCI 8,472 91,500 2012 

Veneto Designer Outlet Venice Italy mcarthurGlen Group 6,500 70,200 2012 

Castel Romano Designer Outlet rome Italy mcarthurGlen Group 8,000 86,400 2012 

Barberino Designer Outlet Florence Italy mcarthurGlen Group 6,000 64,800 2012 

Festival Park ebbw Vale Wales, UK Chester Properties 25,000 270,000 2012 

asset management 

la Reggia Designer Outlet naples Italy mcarthurGlen Group 6,000 64,800 2013 

Swindon Designer Outlet Swindon england mcarthurGlen Group 5,000 54,000 2014 

Designer Outlet Roermond düsseldorf Germany mcarthurGlen Group 11,000 118,800 2014 

9 expansions 5 countries 4 developers 84,493 m 2 912,530 sf 


OCI’s Designer Outlets Wolfsburg, which opened in 2007, has gotten approvals for 

an 8,472-m 2 expansion, which will open in 2012. 

Source: Value Retail News/International Outlet Journal

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EurOpEaN prOJECTS 

uK 

Wembley outlet 

signs popular 

restaurants 

lONDON DESIGNER OuTlET, a 

350,000-sf outlet destination being 

developed by Quintain Estates in 

northwest London as part of Wembley 

City mixed-use project, has signd 

three restaurant tenants: 

l Frankie and Benny’s, Italian-American 

fare, taking 4,138 sf for 25 years 

l Handmade Burger Co., 40 different 

burgers made from scratch, 2,700 sf 

for 15 years 

l Jimmy Spices, multicultural range 

of Indian, Thai, Italian and Chinese 

dishes, 13,121 sf for 25 years 

Wembley City is the transformation of 

87 acres of land surrounding Wembley 

Stadium and Arena. The development 

FRANCE 

Roppenheim 

Outlets sets 

Grand opening 

for 2012 

NEINVER AND MAB Development 

are well into the construction of their 

new joint venture, Roppenheim The 

Style Outlets, scheduled to open in early 

2012. The 27,280-m 2 center is on the 

RD4 near the French village of Roppenheim 

and the German border. It will 

be the sixth Style Outlet concept that 

Neinver has opened since creating the 

concept two years ago. 

The center will group 107 shops in 

27,280 m 2 with 50,000 m 2 of green area 

on a lakeshore. 

“All the buildings will be under 

construction by the end of summer and 

the towers will be finished in September 

2011,” promised Marc Vaquier, CEO of 

MAB. 

The center will look like a fortified 

Alsatian village with traditionally colored 

walls and roofs. Thalès Architectures 

designed the project to reflect 

three different styles: Baroque, Renaissance 

and Medieval. 


Quintain Estates’ planned London Designer Outlet has intentionally begun its leasing 

program with restaurants and leisure operators to create a lifestyle destination. 

will eventually include the outlet center, 

homes, office/commercial space and a 

Hilton hotel. Site work is under way, and 

development of LDO is due to start later 

this year with the opening of 85 outlets, 

a nine-screen cinema and 15 restaurants 

in 2013. The site is 15 minutes from 

London Marylebone by train; 8.4 million 

Village d’Aquitaine 

sets 2013 opening 

THE OPENING OF the Village 

d’Aquitaine Fashion Outlet, being developed 

on the outskirts of Bordeaux, 

France, has been confirmed for 2013. 

The fourth generation outlet center, 

developed by Bergerac Outlets SAS part 

of Rioja Developments, is planned to 

have a phase 1 of 15,000 m 2 . 

The 18-hectare (44 acres) outlet scheme 

will sit within St. Andre du Cubzac. The 

masterplan will oversee the development 

of 40 hectares (100 acres) of commercial, 

live within a 60-minute drive. 

“We have intentionally targeted leisure 

operators in the first phase of the lettings 

strategy as part of our overall aim 

to deliver a mixed-use retail, restaurant 

and entertainment lifestyle destination.” 

said Phil Cottingham, managing director 

of Retail at Quintain. 

Neinver and MAB are developing Roppenheim The Style Outlets in a French village 

near the German border. 

tourist and leisure facilities in the heart of 

the Gironde. 

Giles Membrey, managing director at 

Rioja Developments said, “The scheme 

at Village d’Aquitaine has huge potential 

for brands, drawing a catchment from 

the whole of Bordeaux and the Aquitaine 

region. Annually 27.5 million tourists 

travel on the A10 motorway, close to the 

retail and leisure complex at St. Andre du 

Cubzac, allowing retailers the opportunity 

to draw on residents as well as a constant 

flow of tourists year on year. With its accessibility, 

design and glorious setting, it is 

easy to see why retailers are already keen 

to be involved in the scheme.”

uKRAINE 

Progress reported 

On Kiev E95 center 

EVO lAND DEVElOPMENT has 

completed the design phase of Kiev 

E95 Outlet Centre, which will be the 

first FOC to open in Ukraine next 

year. 

The design, based on the typical 

European outlet center’s village style, 

will include Ukrainian baroque details 

and a comfortable, appealing old-town 

setting. The 170,435-sf mall will be 

on a site 12 km south of Kiev, on the 

intersection of E95 highway and new 

the Kiev ring route. The E95 connects 

Kiev with Odessa, which is more than 

400 km south. 

EVO Land Development specializes 

in retail and residential real estate 

development in major Ukrainian cities. 

Chameleon Retail is handling leasing on 

the property. 

EurO updaTES 

With the center’s design completed, Evo Land Development is pushing hard to get 

Kiev E95 Outlet Centre open in Ukraine in 2012. 



RuSSIA 

Belaya Dacha plans 

March 2012 opening 

HINES INTERNATIONAl Real 

Estate says it will open Outlet Village 

Belaya Dacha in Moscow in March 

2012 in the Moscow area town of 

Kotelniki. 

A joint venture of Hines and Belaya 

Dacha Group, the €120 million, 38,000m 

2 project is more than 75 percent 

pre-leased. 

BElAyA DACHA TENANTS 

adidas 

aldo 

Baldinini 

Bebe 

BmL munchen 

Bosco 

Burberry 

Cacharel 

Champion 

Chevignon 

CK Jeans 

dimensione danza 

energie/Killah 

SlOVAKIA 

escada 

Fabi 

Ferragamo 

Fifa 

Furla 

Gant 

Giovane Gentile 

Gizia 

henderson & hayas 

Il Patio 

Imperiya Sumok 

Incanto 

Incity 

Fashion House plus 

a newcomer plan 

centers in Russia 

VNuKOVO OuTlET VIllAGE is the 

latest new outlet center to take aim on 

Russia. Colliers International is handling 

leasing, but other details, such as the 

One Fashion Outlet 

names tenants 

ONE FASHION OuTlET, the 16,000m 

2 center set to open in spring 2012 

near Bratislava, Slovakia, has released 

the names of several tenants that have 

signed up for the project: Adidas, 

Benetton, Envy, Esprit & Schiesser 

Underwear, Gant, Levi’s, Lindt, Nike 

and Tom Tailor. 

Realiz, the developer of the €75 million 

project, is working with outlet spe- 


Hines International plans to open the €120 million, 38,000-m2 Outlet Village Belaya 

Dacha in Moscow in March 2012. 

Italian Osteria 

James 

Jamilco 

Jeans Symphony 

Joymiss 

Kanz Kids 

Karen millen 

Kurt Geiger 

Lacoste 

Le Coq Sportif 

L’etoile 

Levi’s 

Louvre 

m&S 

mascotte 

mexx 

michelle design 

miss Sixty 

modabella 

murphy & nYe 

naf naf 

new Balance 

nike 

nine West 

no One 

Ochnik 

center’s size and exact location weren’t 

available at IOJ press time. 

Fashion House is continuing to develop 

two projects in Russia: 

Fashion House Outlet Centre Moscow, 

a 29,000-m 2 center set to open in the 

spring of 2012. The site is northwest of 

Sheremetyvo International Airport on 

the main highway to St. Petersburg. The 

cialists Rioja Developments, Rohleder 

Lumby, SJ International, Freeport and 

Graham Coxhead, who has been appointed 

business development manager. 

Prior to joining One Fashion Outlet, 

Coxhead was with D1 Outlet Bratislava, 

a competing outlet project. 

One Fashion center, designed by 

Holder Mathias, is in Voderady on the 

outskirts of Bratislava. The center’s 

catchment includes 4.8 million people 

within a 90-minute drive in Slovakia, the 

Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary. 

Oasis 

Pal Zileri 

Parfois 

Patrizia Pepe 

Pente 

Pinko 

Planeta Sushi 

ramsey 

red Caffee 

Sonia rykiel 

StepoS 

Strellson 

Svyaznoy 

timberland 

tommy hilfiger 

triumph 

trussardi 

tsum 

tvoe 

UGG 

UOmO Collezioni 

US Polo 

Van Laak 

Williams & Oliver 

Wolford 

scheme is within a 45-minute drive of the 

center of Moscow and has a catchment 

of 13.4 million within a 90-minute drive. 

Fashion House Outlet Centre St. 

Petersburg, a 37,000-m 2 center set 

to open in spring 2013. The site is 

southwest of the city limits on a major 

highway with easy access and near the 

Pulkovo airport. 

D1 Outlet developer 

invests in multi-use 

facilities at the site 

IPEC GROuP, which is developing D1 

Outlet Bratislava in Slovakia, is investing 

€18 million in two other projects 

surrounding the site. The first is an 

office park that can accommodate 

2,000 workers, to be constructed in 

two phases south and northeast of the 

(continued on page 24)

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outlet center. The second project is 

a logistics park for a variety of uses, 

including office, retail, storage and light 

manufacturing. The new projects will 

open in 2013. 

GERMANy, HOllAND 

Stable reports 

on three centers 

THE NETHERlANDS-based developer 

has announced that obstacles delaying 

Montabaur Fashion Outlet near 

Frankfurt, Germany have been resolved 

and that construction will begin in early 

2012. The appeal lodged by the town of 

EURO BRIEFS 

Resolution acquires 

McArthurGlen Roubaix 

RESOluTION PROPERTy has 

acquired McArthurGlen Roubaix, the 

191,000-sf (17,325 m 2 ) outlet center 

near Lille, France, for €23 million. 

Resolution bought the project 

from the European Outlet Mall Fund 

(EOMF), managed by Henderson 

Global Investors. 

McArthurGlen, which opened the 

center in August 1999 as part of 

an urban revitalization, is a major 

shareholder in the fund and will 

continue to manage, market and 

lease the project for Resolution. 

According to Henderson, the purchase 

price represents a net initial 

yield of 8 percent. 

The center is 20 minutes from 

Lille and the Belgian border and less 

than an hour’s drive from Brussels. 

The population within a two-hour 

drive is 11.1 million. 

In 2010 Resolution acquired 

McArthurGlen’s Troyes Designer 

Outlet in France from Henderson’s 

fund for €85.5 million. Like the 

Roubaix purchase, McArthurGlen 

Troyes continues to be managed, marketed 

and leased by McArthurGlen. 

The Roubaix center has 75 tenants, 


Limburg against the 16,000-m2 project 

has been dismissed by the highest court 

in Germany and no further appeals are 

possible, Stable says. 

At Batavia Stad in Lelystad, Holland, 

sales have increased 14 percent over last 

summer and footfall has increased by 

6 percent. New tenants at the center 

include Hugo Boss, Daniel Hechter, 

Tommy Hilfiger and Gant. Stable is 

also planning an 8,000-m2 phase 4 at 

the 10-year-old center. Construction is 

planned to start 2012. 

Tom Tailer and Dutch retailer Topmerkschoenen 

have joined Rosada 

Factory Outlet in Roosendaal, Holland. 

Since Stable took over management, 

marketing and leasing, sales at the center 

have increased 11 percent and footfall is 

up by 8 percent. Plans are in the works 

including Adidas, Diesel, Kipling, 

Lacoste and Timberland. 

Gloucester Quays 

adds to its outlet 

tenancy 

lEASING HAS BEEN busy at 

Gloucester Quays this summer with 

four new tenants opening in the 

220,000-sf center: Pilot, one of the 

UK’s leading clothing brands for fashion-conscious 

teen to 20-something 

females; room, which specializes 

in home and gift products including 

for a 7,000-m2 expansion at the fiveyear-old 

center. 

Brehna Outlet Park 

gets a green light 

BREHNA OuTlET PARK, in the 

Halle/Leipzig region of Germany, has 

the green light to open as an outlet center. 

The structure is an existing mall that 

had received local approvals a year ago, 

but objections from the neighboring 

cities stalled the project. The developer, 

Amsterdam-based One Outlet Services, 

told VRN/IOJ that all objections have 

been cleared and reconstruction was 

expected to begin at the end of August. 

The 17,500-m2 center is about 40 percent 

preleased and is scheduled to open 

in the autumn of 2012. c 

The 17,325-m 2 McArthurGlen Roubaix, which opened in 1999 as part of an urban 

revitalization project, is less than one hour from Brussels. 

hand-made Indian furniture, picture 

frames, wall art, glassware, cushion 

covers, candles, silk flowers and 

incense; tefal, the global leader in 

cookware, pressure cookers, electrical 

cooking appliances, food and 

beverage preparation and irons; and 

Double two, a plus-size apparel 

retailer for men and women. 

Gloucester Quays is a joint venture 

between The Peel Group and 

British Waterways and is one of the 

largest mixed use waterside regeneration 

developments in the UK. 

Tenants include M & S Outlet, Next 

Clearance, Gap Outlet, Nike Factory

Store, Calvin Klein, LK Bennett, Le 

Creuset and Osprey London. 

land Rover Bikes 

arrive at Royal Quays 

BICyClES, OuTDOOR GEAR and coffee 

are among a range of products on 

sale at the new Land Rover Bikes outlet 

store that recently opened at Royal 

Quays Outlet Centre, Newcastle. 

Royal Quays is owned by North 

Shields Investment Properties and 

managed by WD Limited. Tenants at 

the 137,000-sf center, which opened 

in 1996, include The Body Shop, 

Clarks, GAP, Le Creuset, Marks & 

Spencer, Moss, Next, Nike, Trespass 

and Pagazzi Lighting, the UK’s largest 

decorative lighting retailer. 

The center, which from above 

appears to be shaped like a grand 

piano, is close to both the A19 and 

the International Ferry Terminal as 

well as to Royal Quays Marina on the 

River Tyne. DW Sports Fitness and a 

50-room Premier Inn hotel are nearby, 

as is a 740-space car park. 

Dutch developer 

launches outlet 

management 

company 

STABlE INTERNATIONAl, developer 

of Batavia Stad, the first outlet center 

in the Netherlands, has launched 

a new company, Stable Outlet 

Management. The new company will 

provide all the construction, operations, 

management, marketing and 

leasing services to developers and 

investors who want to get into the 

European outlet sector. 

Leading the team of seasoned 

outlet professionals are Gerben 

Boomsma, director, and Natalia de 

Smalen, marketing director. 

“Our mission is to build and manage 

strong retail real-estate in a 

way that optimizes business and 

cashflow and ensures the property’s 

long-term value,” Boomsma said. 

“By partnering with owners, developers 

and brands, we can create a 

flexible business environment. And 

land Rover Bikes, which recently opened an outlet store at Royal Quays Outlet Centre 

in Newcastle, England, joins a tenant line-up that includes GAP, Nike and Trespass. 

by working closely with the on-site 

teams, by giving them the right tools 

and a clear vision, we can teach and 

support them to operate a successful 

fashion outlet center.” 

Stable Management’s current 

list of clients includes Batavia Stad 

Fashion Outlet and Rosada Fashion 

Outlet, both existing centers in 

the Netherlands, and projects in 

development in Montabaur and 

Wiedemar, Germany. 

ulster Bank takes 

Banbridge FOC 

SHOPPERS PROBABly won’t notice, 

but The Outlet at Banbridge in 

Northern Ireland was taken back 

by its lender in June. Technically, 

The Outlet, which was developed by 

GML Estates, part of John Farmer’s 

Orana Group, has been “purchased” 

by one of Ulster Bank’s subsidiary 

companies, the bank said. West 

Register Property Limited is a specialist 

property asset management 

company within the Ulster Bank, 

which is owned by the Royal Bank of 

Scotland Group. 

The four-year-old center, developed 

as a JV by GML and Land Securities, is 

on the A1 Euroroute between Belfast 

and Dublin. Tenants in the 205,000-sf 

center include Billabong, Clarks, Mexx, 

Staccato, Timberland and Vans. 

Scott Malkin named 

ulI Europe chairman 

SCOTT MAlKIN, the founder and 

chairman of UK outlet shopping 

center specialist Value Retail, was 

named chairman of ULI Europe in 

July. He succeeds Alexander Otto, 

CEO of ECEProjektmanagement, 

who served as 

chairman for the 

last two-and-ahalf 

years, ULI 

Europe said on 

Thursday. 

Malkin, a member 

of ULI since 

1986, serves on 

Scott Malkin the global executive 

committee of the organization. 

Otto will continue his long association 

with ULI Europe with his 

appointment as chairman of the ULI 

Europe Advisory Board, which helps 

to develop the strategic direction of 

ULI in Europe. 

ULI is a global research and education 

institute dedicated to responsible 

land use and sustainable 

community building. Currently, ULI 

has nearly 30,000 members worldwide, 

including more than 2,000 in 

16 countries across Europe. The 

Institute’s European operations are 

run from offices in London and 

Frankfurt. c 


iCSC OuTlETS aSia 

China confronts a steep curve 

Outlet experts met 

in China to discuss 

the industry’s future 

and share information 

at ICSC’s two-day 

conference in July. 

By Joel McCormick 

iOJ Contributing writer 

Go smart, not fast was the message 

that echoed again and again 

at ICSC’s inaugural Outlets Asia 

conference in China. The July 28-29 

event in Suzhou on the outskirts of 

Shanghai drew more than 100 developers, 

retailers and investors from across 

China, Asia, Europe and North America. 

Speaker after speaker in 10 educational 

sessions and a dozen roundtables 

urged industry participants in China to 

take the time to understand their target 

markets, big retail’s needs, and why letting 

local government determine outlet 

sites often leads to failure. 

One after another, experts cautioned 

against overbuilding, which appears 

endemic in China. Barely a handful of 

outlet centers in 

mature markets in 

Europe and the U.S. 

reach the 700,000- 

sf or 800,000-sf 

range, noted industry 

veteran Brad 

Stipe, president of 

Brad Stipe 

consultancy Stipe 

Property Develop- 

ment. “And yet when I look at projects 

already built in China, and projects proposed 

in China, I see a lot of numbers at 

the very top of this spectrum.” 

A former Chelsea executive, Stipe has 

worked on projects in the U.S., South 

Korea and Japan. “While mature markets 

have the majority of tenants available to 

them,” Stipe said, “in China many of the 

tenants haven’t even arrived here, much 

less stabilized their business to the point 

of taking it to the outlet side of things.” 

China has 23 outlet centers now and es- 


Outlets Asia, ICSC’s first conference exclusively for the outlet industry in China, drew 

more than 125 attendees when it was held in July. 

timates suggest 30 to 40 more will come 

online over the next few years. Stipe said 

he sensed a “build it and they will come” 

mentality. Little wonder: As Beijing 

drives efforts to expand China’s domestic 

economy and lessen dependence on 

exports, the country finds itself in the 

midst of an unrelenting mall boom. And 

that was mirrored in conference attendee 

numbers: Chinese delegates came from a 

dozen cities, many in the country’s interior 

– a sure sign that interest in the outlet 

model is spreading inland from China’s 

wealthy east coast centers. 

Citing ICSC data, keynote speaker 

David Ober, president of U.S. outlet company 

Global Outlet Management, said in 

his State of the Outlet Industry report 

that 11 outlet centers 

were due to open in 

China this year and 23 

more were planned 

for the next three 

years. But growth 

isn’t unique to China, 

he said. The U.S., in 

theory, was projected 

David Ober 

to see 47 added to its outlet inventory in 

the next few years, Canada 16, Europe 

another 40. 

“Nearly 50 outlet centers are at one 

stage of thought or reality in the combined 

Eastern Europe and the Mideast,” 

Ober said. “The expansion of outlets 

is cumulatively outpacing full-price retail 

across the globe.” 

What’s behind it? 

“Six or seven years ago, real estate 

focused on the outlet industry as lenders 

realized it was a powerful source of 

consumer spending,” Ober said, adding 

that U.S. outlets now outperform many 

full-price centers, generating as much 

as 50 percent of operating income for 

developers and retailers. In the case of 

publicly-traded REITs, outlet portfolios 

in some cases now deliver up to 70 percent 

of bottom-line profits, he said. 

While China has been accelerating 

expansion, however loosely “outlet” is 

defined, Ober said the U.S. has been 

consolidating and streamlining. Today, 

30 years after the first new-construction 

outlet center opened, the U.S. has just 

181 outlet centers. These productive, 

healthy, strongly tenanted centers average 

only 35,000 m2, compared to the average 

Chinese outlet center’s 65,000 m 2 . 

Eventually, he said, Chinese outlet centers 

will face the same pressures as fewer, 

more powerful brands take back their 

licenses and operate their own retail chains. 

“We have incredible consolidation,” he 

said, citing Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) 

as an example. The apparel giant’s brands 

include Calvin Klein, Bass, Tommy 

Hilfiger and a long list of others. The 

industry is so brand-driven that of the 

47 centers proposed in the U.S. over the

next two to three years, only two have 

so far been completed. How many of 

the remaining will actually open “will be 

decided by the retailers,” he said. 

Huge and empty 

Brad Stipe devoted most of his session, 

“Fundamentals of Conceiving 

and Developing an Outlet Project,” to 

design. He stressed the importance of 

aesthetics, the advantages of racetrack 

configurations, and the importance of 

signage and graphics that “can make or 

break a project.” 

From a design and land-use perspective, 

he said, China presents real challenges, 

particularly the high-density requirements. 

The need to accommodate 

high density calls for multi-level outlet 

centers, a model that hasn’t worked in 

the rest of the world. 

“Most successful projects have always 

been one or two levels, usually just one 

level,” he said. Citing projects he had 

worked on in Japan – which had similar 

density issues – he said developers 

managed to deal with them and still stay 

within two levels. 

Another issue for China is the penchant 

for constructing more space than 

necessary. Stipe said maintaining an image 

of success at all times is critical, thus a 

project’s size must be appropriate for the 

market and tenant demand. By developing 

in phases, the developer both minimizes 

risk and maintains an image of success by 

keeping occupancy rates high.” 

Developers had lots of issues to think 

about, he said. “The population centers 

are much, much larger, income disparity 

much greater, and retail saturation of 

international and U.S. domestic brands 

is limited to low. Brand awareness, 

while higher in the first-tier cities, really 

drops off precipitously as you get to the 

third-tier cities.” 

In the final analysis, Stipe said, China’s 

outlet industry can achieve success by 

“following proven methods now, and 

evolving later.” 

Partnerships in all 

shapes and sizes 

Trying to explain the root of China’s 

sometimes odd partnerships, Jiang Jun, 

CEO of Shanghai-based Zaihang Real 

Estate Consulting, said central government 

land policy had effectively pushed 

small operators, residential developers, 

Richard Hamilton, Taubman Asia’s VP-development, stressed the importance of 

strong partnership when developing retail centers in China 

manufacturers and other groups into the 

same corner. Their common denominator 

is this: Though they’re all aware of the 

outlet phenomenon, they had little or no 

background in retail 

but they all owned 

land or had access 

to it in the suburbs. 

And many of 

them, she added, 

were familiar with 

planning issues and 

Jiang Jun 

maintained close 

relationships with 

local government, making them seasoned 

partners in tasks such as securing 

land plots and permits. 

As Jiang put it, “What they’re missing, 

and what they readily acknowledge, is retail 

and outlet expertise, brand relationships, 

leasing and management knowledge.” 

Obviously they have much to learn, 

and some outlet players appear keen to 

fill the knowledge gap. European-based 

outlet operator Fashion House, for 

example, addressed just this group in an 

ad in the Outlets Asia program, offering 

consulting and franchise services 

to “any independent developers with 

suitable land plots, either with relevant 

permits or the ability to secure planning 

approvals, along with access to a construction 

capability but without specialist 

knowledge of the outlet market.” 

That said, partnerships can sometimes 

take strange turns. Richard Hamilton, 

Taubman Asia’s VP development, offered 

a foreign investor’s perspective on China 

and spent a lot of time on the topic of 

partnership. 

“In 2006, we were introduced to a 

project opportunity in Macau for a mixeduse 

casino resort. Besides the casino, the 

project comprised four hotels, theater, 

mall and convention facilities. It was a terrific 

site,” Hamilton said, at the Macau end 

of the Lotus Bridge to China, the region’s 

biggest source of gaming tourism. 

“The existing partners looked to 

Taubman to undertake the retail component, 

some 60,000 m2,” he said. And 

Taubman liked the odds, reckoning 

the project would yield a net operating 

income in excess of $80 million. So the 

developer signed for 25 percent of the 

retail component, as much as the partners 

were prepared to cede. 

“We started work in 2007 and inherited 

this terrible plan that had parallel 

malls, terrible site lines, no consideration 

of vertical transport [a critical detail 

since the mall was to be on an upper 

level] and we got to work and came up 

with a racetrack design,” Hamilton said. 

“What we quickly discovered working 

with our partners was that they were 

quite dysfunctional. There was a local 

landowner along with two foreign fund 

managers who were unaligned in terms 

of their interests. Very quickly the project 

stalled.” 

Decisions couldn’t be made and the 

financing required to keep the project 



iCSC OuTlETS aSia 


going didn’t materialize. “Then comes 

the global financial crisis and the opportunity 

was lost,” Hamilton said. 

“I mention this because this was an 

extremely prime site. But the partnership 

was not able to work and the opportunity 

was lost – so no matter how good the 

site is, if you can’t make the partnership 

work, the real estate opportunity you 

think you have is really not there.” 

Choosing the right partner in China 

requires ensuring each side’s interests 

align in every way possible, Hamilton 

said. And where they don’t align, success 

requires a deep understanding of each 

partner’s differences, whether it’s the 

pace of each other’s decision-making, 

their different cost of capital, income 

streams, perspectives on risk, everything. 

2 views of domestic brands: 

Keep them in? 

Or kick them out? 

EWB’s James Rickson said Chinese 

outlets centers should lose their domestic 

brands because they spoiled the fun and 

festive feel of the shopping experience. 

“In China, when I look at outlets, the 

mixing of local brands and international 

brands dilutes that 

experience,” he 

said. “Visitors see 

several stores that 

meet their expectations 

and then they 

see several stores 

they can drive to 

James Rickson 

down the street.” 

The point 

reminded him of a slide that Rockvale’s 

David Ober showed at an earlier 

conference session. Citing recent surveys, 

it showed that only 10 percent of 

outlet shoppers made repeat visits to 

the same center. 

“We need shoppers to come back time 

and time again. The industry can’t survive 

on a 10-percent return. We need 25, 40, 

50, 100 percent, hopefully,” Rickson said. 

“In China, we still haven’t seen an outlet 

mall with 100-percent international brands 

to give the customer that same experience 

she gets in Europe or the United States.” 

The presence of so many domestic 

tenants in China’s outlet centers, 

Rickson suggested, means international 

brands would be reluctant to support 

center marketing campaigns to attract 

shoppers from outside the local area. 


“In China, the mixing 

of local brands 

and international 

brands dilutes that 

outlet experience.” 

James rickson, eWB 

In the conference’s closing session, 

Chris Milliken, commercial director of 

UK-based Freeport, offered a lengthy 

rebuttal. 

“Look,” he said. “We have our own 

domestic brands in Europe and I’m 

happy to have them. Don’t forget, the 

uniqueness is in the price point – you’re 

getting 30 to 50 to 70 percent off. 

“We should pay more attention to 

domestic brands 

in this market,” 

he said. “They 

kind of got a bad 

name in China, 

partly because 

outlets tend to 

hide them around 

the back – they’re 

all put together 

Chris Milliken 

like a second division and they don’t 

get the footfall so they’re bound to 

spiral downward. If we took them 

“We should pay more 

attention to domestic 

brands in this 

market… If we took 

them more seriously, 

helped them with 

their merchandising, 

helped them fit out 

correctly and helped 

them with signage, 

you’ll fill your center 

and help it perform 

better.” 

Chris Milliken, Freeport 

more seriously, helped them with 

their merchandising, helped them fit 

out correctly and helped them with 

signage, you’ll fill your center and help 

it perform better.” 

The Freeport executive sees domestic 

and mass market brands as an 

important part of the overall outlet 

mix. “People will buy luxury but they 

accessorize with other things,” he said. 

“A lady may buy an Armani coat for 

$1,000 but then she might equally go 

to H&M to buy a shirt for $35,” he 

said. Consumers don’t buy only luxury, 

he said. They buy a mix of things, 

which means that domestic brands are 

becoming become more important. 

Milliken said he had recently surveyed 

the 10 billboards in the arrivals hall of 

Beijing Airport’s massive Terminal 3 

and noticed that all but one advertised 

domestic brands. The lone exception 

was Gucci – which “doesn’t do outlets 

in China,” Milliken pointed out. 

Chinese millionaires 

At an earlier conference session, 

Shanghai-based KPMG partner Tracy 

Yang walked attendees through the latest 

luxury data. China’s luxury market grew 

to ¥80 billion (€8.6 billion) in 2010 from 

¥55 billion (€3 billion) in 2008 and is 

projected to grow 18 percent annually to 

¥180 billion (€19.4 

billion) at current 

exchange rates by 

2015. 

Yang also offered 

some demographic 

snapshots from 

KPMG: 960,000 

Chinese have 

individual worth of 

Tracy yang 

more than ¥10 million (€1 million) and 

60,000 Chinse have individual worth of 

¥100 million (€150 million). 

China’s millionaires, she said, tend 

to be younger and more free-spending 

than their Western counterparts. They 

are found everywhere in China but 

remain heavily concentrated in wealthy 

coastal centers. 

The wealthy account for the vast bulk 

of luxury consumption, she said, but 

China’s emerging middle class is becoming 

aspirational, accounting for 13 percent of 

luxury sales in 2010, according to Yang. 

The data explains why more of the 

world’s top luxury brands are focusing 

on China. But Freeport’s Milliken of-

fered a caution on going overboard on 

upscale tenants. 

“Don’t get too hung up on uberultra-luxury 

brands,” he said, mentioning 

Hermes and Chanel, among others. 

“Half of them don’t do outlets.” 

Besides, he added, most sales come 

not from the super-luxe segment, but 

from good, upper-level mass brands. 

“Tommy Hilfiger, Burberry, Polo Ralph 

Lauren is where the volume is.” 

Build it, and then what? 

Several speakers at Outlets Asia zeroed 

in on that favorite maxim of wishful 

thinkers, “Build it and they will come.” 

But Allan Tang, 

managing director 

of Beijing-headquartered 

T&C 

Asset Management 

Consulting, stepped 

back to fine-tune 

the question: Build 

what exactly? As he 

pointed out, only 

Allan Tang 

23 of China’s 40 malls labeled as outlet 

centers really qualified as such. 

Essentially, local governments aiming 

for fast-track economic growth opened 

up development zones, discounting land 

for preferred investors, including outlet 

players. These offers attracted not just 

retail developers and store groups, but 

developers primarily interested in building 

residential and commercial towers and 

hotels – basically, projects promising fast 

payback. To qualify for land discounts, the 

developer would throw an outlet center 

into the package, even if he didn’t know 

malls from snowballs. When these afterthought 

outlets open, without the benefit 

of proper research or commitment, 

“Most will fail,” Tang says bluntly. 

On the issue of overbuilding, Rickson 

expressed concern about a recent visit 

to 14 outlet sites. “It is incumbent on 

us as an industry to tell people when 

their projects are not going to work, or 

at least tell them that their timeframe is 

unrealistic. If we are to have confidence 

in this model and grow it in China, we 

have to talk realistically about what will 

and won’t happen.” 

Richard Hamilton, of Taubman 

Asia said, “Our product is very simple. 

We create meeting places where our 

customers can engage with retailers. 

This raises two obvious questions. Do 

retailers need this place? Do customers 

want it? 

“If the driver of the decision is 

someone other than the retailer and the 

customer – if the development is being 

pushed by a local government keen to 

see outlets in their jurisdictions,” he said. 

“There’s a very great risk the decision is 

being made incorrectly.” 

David Ober agreed and pointed out 

that outlet locations in China were often 

settled by local governments who hand 

over designated land at a discount, along 

with project financing, all pre-arranged 

at the local bank. “There isn’t any of 

that background research,” Ober said, 

recalling the early days when more than 

a few U.S. outlet projects opened on a 

hunch instead of research. 

Ober urged government officials in 

the room to do their research before 

bringing an outlet project to market. 

“You will save yourself a lot of longterm 

political pain,” he said. “The sad 

part is there will be consultants and 

developers who will take advantage of 

projects that will not bring any longterm 

gain for your community.” 

Then he added: “Is this something that 

happens only in China? Look, we have 

many centers in the United States that 

opened with outlets but couldn’t maintain 

outlet tenancy because they should 

never have been built in the first place.” 

Brad Stipe said he understands the 

excitement the Chinese feel about outlets. 

But, he said, government-backed 

projects may fail to meet the essential 

criteria for successful outlets and will 

be overshadowed when a properly 

researched and planned project opens in 

the market. c 

ASIA BRIEFS 

EWB, APOC form outlet JV for China 

u.S.-BASED EWB has joined with 

multinational APOC to lease outlet 

centers throughout China. 

EWB’s team of outlet experts have 

leased and marketed more than 40 

outlet projects in the past 15 years, 

including centers in the U.S., Europe 

and the Middle East. The mission is 

to develop a portfolio of outlet centers 

in China that would be tenanted 

exclusively by international luxury 

and fashion brands. 

APOC is a group of U.S. and U.S.educated 

Chinese developers who are 

leveraging their Chinese governmental 

contacts to secure development 

rights across a number of provinces. 

The developer plans high-quality, 

Western-style management that will 

differentiate APOC projects. 

EWB said in a press release that it 

has been pushed by its U.S. tenants 

to enter the Chinese outlet market. 

However, the developer initially 

resisted working in China due to 

the current frenzied state of retail 

development there. APOC, through 

its Chinese connections, will ensure 

locations that meet brand expectations. 

In turn, the architectural 

detailing, focus on quality construction 

and day-to-day management 

will help bridge the gap between 

Western brands’ expectations and 

the desire for foreign brands by 

Chinese consumers. 

APOC and EWB say their outlet 

projects will be smaller than have 

been typically built in China. The 

JV will focus on 30,000-m2 projects 

built in two or three phases to 

limit vacancies and to maximize the 

return on investment. The JV will 

also introduce high-quality food and 

beverage operations, along with a 

small number of lifestyle and entertainment 

venues to heighten the 

shopping experience, build repeat 

business and position the centers 

as central to the local community. 

Principals in the joint venture are 

Garth Everhart, APOC; and Peter 

Edelmann, Lisa Wagner and James 

Rickson, all of EWB. c 


graNd OpENiNg 

Florentia Village brings 

a touch of Italy to China 

RDM’s Florentia Village, the first Italian-inspired outlet center in China, opened June 

9 with a huge party, 1,000 VIP guests, fireworks and performances. 

30 International Outlet Journal Fall 2011 

The first outlet center 

opened in China by 

RDM and Waitex is 

loaded with Italian 

brands, gondolas and 

even a replica of the 

Coliseum. 

Florentia Village-Jingjin 

Designer Outlets, the first 

Italian-inspired designer outlet 

center in China, was launched on June 

9 with an extravagant party, 1,000 VIP 

guests, fireworks and performances. 

RDM, the real estate arm of the Italian 

fashion and finance conglomerate 

Fingen, and its minority partner 

Waitex, are the developers. 

Designed as a romantic 

16th century Italian town, the 

42,000-m2 Florentia Village 

opened with 50 tenants and 

will have a total of 100 by the 

end of this year. The center 

has four merchandise neighborhoods: 

luxury, international 

premium, sports and leisure. It 

is loaded with Italian touches, 

such as a spacious replica of 

the Coliseum and gondoliers 

ferrying shoppers up and down 

the project’s canal. 

Perhaps the most important 

Italian touch is Florentia Village’s 

brand line-up. Fingen 

was involved with McArthur- 

Glen on that developer’s outlet 

centers in Serravalle, Castel 

Romano, Barberino, Veneto 

and Naples. Because of this 

experience, RDM set out to 

feature not only Italian brands 

but also European, American 

and Chinese fashion and luxury

labels. RDM says that 90 

percent of the world’s 

top 30 brands will be in 

the center. 

“Florentia Village will 

have true Italian genes,” 

Ivano Poma, managing 

director of RDM Asia 

Ltd, told IOJ in 2010. 

“Our aim is to substantially 

raise the bar in the 

China outlet market, in 

the level of construction, 

the management style 

and the quality. Our aim 

is to establish Florentia 

Village as a retail landmark 

for design, fashion 

and business success in 

China, by offering an 

authentic Italian outlet 

experience and unparalleled worldclass 

management.” 

Located in Wuqing, Florentia Village 

is between Beijing and Tianjin 

on Jingjin Highway and Jingjin Tang 

Express Way, five minutes from the 

Yangcun Exit. By high-speed rail, the 

center is just 20 minutes from Beijing 

and a mere 10 minutes from Tianjin. 

Nearly 3,000 parking spaces have 

been provided for shoppers who drive 

to the center. 

The RDM Group, in its continuing 

partnership with Waitex, is developing 

three to four more Florentia Village 

Centers within the next four years, 

investing up to ¥5 Billion RMB. 

Additionally, RDM said recently 

that it has signed an agreement with 

the Shanghai Pudong government to 

be a strategic partner in the development 

of a designer outlet center 

between the Pudong International 

Airport and Shanghai Disney Resort. 

The Disney project is scheduled to 

open in spring 2016, with the 53,950m2 

outlet center opening in 2013. 

“Asia is very important to RDM, and 

China in particular is the most exciting 

market that we want to be in,” said 

Jacopo Mazzei, chairman and CEO of 

RDM Group. 

Fingen, founded in 1979, has 

managed licenses for brands that 

Designed as a romantic 16th century Italian town, the 42,000-m2 Florentia Village opened with 50 

tenants and will have a total of 100 by the end of this year. 

Tenants at Florentia Village-Jingjin Designer Outlets include: 

Armani 

Badgley Mischka 

BMW Lifestyle 

Brooks Brothers 

Bulgari 

Burberry 

Byford 

Calvin Klein Collection 

Calvin Klein Jeans 

Carnival 

Celine 

CK Underwear 

Coach 

Dunhill 

Energie 

Esprit 

Euro Couture 

Fendi 

Feraud 

Folli Follie 

Frette 

include Calvin Klein, Guess, Jean Paul 

Gaultier and Kathy Van Zeeland. Fingen 

also owns Tie Rack, a network of 

300 airport shops around the world. 

RDM focuses on retail centers and 

luxury hotels, including Four Seasons 

hotels in Florence and Rome. 

Waitex was established in 1981 in 

Gieves & Hawkes 

Gucci 

Guess 

Inniu 

Jessica/Episode 

Jorya/Jorya Weekend 

Kent & Curwen 

Lacoste 

Lancel 

Lee 

Levi’s 

Loewe 

Marlboro 

Miss Sixty 

Moncler 

Novo Outlet 

Pal Zileri 

Patrizia Pepe 

Piquadro 

Ports International Ladies 

Prada 

Ralph Lauren 

Roberta Di Camerino 

S. T. Dupont 

Salvatore Ferragamo 

Sasa 

Satchi 

Sd.Spontini 

Theory 

Todllon 

Tod’s 

Tommy Hilfiger 

Tory Burch 

Versace 

Zegna Outlet Store 

Zenobi 

Food tenants: 

Kentucky Fried Chicken 

Lavazza Espression 

Yoshinoya 

BellaVita 

New York by Howard H. Li and is a 

worldwide conglomerate. Waitex has 

been operating in China for more than 

25 years in the areas of luxury retail and 

commercial real estate. In September 

2008, Li was selected by Forbes Asia as 

one of 25 notable Chinese-Americans 

in U.S. business. c 


SNapShOT ON ChiNa 

China’s outlet growth is 

rapid, ambitious, evolving 

The authors caution 

that outlet retailing isn’t 

as easy as it looks, and 

those in the sector must 

play by the rules. 

By XINGuO JIANG, 

Shanghai Zaihang real 

Estate Consulting 

JuN JIANG, Shanghai 

Zaihang real Estate 

Consulting 

yIQuN WANG, 

New York university 

The Chinese outlet industry 

continues to grow rapidly. At 

least seven outlet projects opened 

between May 2010 and May 2011, and 

another eight to 12 projects are set to 

open by the spring of 2012. 

With 30 to 40 more in the pipeline 

under land acquisition or in various 

stages of development, the peak of new 

outlet openings could occur between 

2012 and 2016. The Chinese outlet 

industry is still in its early stage compared 

with most parts of EU and North 


America. It is very much development 

driven rather than retailer driven. 

Some of the trends in the Chinese 

outlet sector are obvious. Developers 

have figured out that village-style centers 

best fit the market. They also understand 

the appropriate size of a typical outlet 

center, and they’re looking more at 

second-tier cities. Developers, who are 

increasingly forming joint-ventures and 

partnerships, are also planning chains of 

outlet centers all over the country. 

But a couple of outlet centers have 

already closed or are on the brink of 

failure. The failing centers provide a 

clear signal to the industry that outlet 

retailing is a business that requires much 

expertise to develop and much time to 

mature. On the bright side, reputable retailers 

– including first-tier international 

brands – are pouring into Chinese outlet 

centers, a signal of the quality of some 

of these chain developers. 

Chain developers 

Currently, there are about 13 outlet 

chain developers in China, with eight 

having opened at least one center and 

five with planned centers only. By 2016, 

each of the biggest five owners (Bailian, 

PCD Stores, RDM, Richly Field and 

Outlet China Ltd.) will be operating an 

average of eight outlet centers. 

n State-owned Yansha, which brought 

the outlet concept to China, has somehow 

paused after opening two departmentstore-style 

outlets. 

n State-owned Bailian, which currently 

owns two village-style centers, has recently 

set ambitious plans to open five to eight 

outlet centers around the country in the 

next couple of years. 

n Regional operator MGS has just 

opened its second outlet center in 

Chongqing; its first is in Chengdu. 

n Taiwan’s department store giant Pacific 

Group has opened three enclosed 

outlet centers and has two in the pipeline. 

n Recently Hong Kong-listed department 

store chain PCD Stores has set 

up an outlet platform named Scitech. 

There is currently one Scitech Outlet in 

operation in Beijing and five to six more 

are planned. 

n State-owned textile manufacturing 

company Tianfang has also formed an 

outlet platform called Stage. The first 

Stage is open and at least three more 

Stages are under construction. 

n Friendship Apollo Group, a stateowned 

regional retail giant opened an 

outlet center in Changsha in early 2011 

and plans to open another in Tianjin. 

n Italian retail group Fingen’s real 

estate wing RDM, opened its first outlet 


Ratio of Full-Price Stores to Outlet Stores by Luxury Retailers in China 

AQuASCuTuM ARMANI BuRBERRy CERRuTI COACH DuNHIll GIVENCHy ZEGNA PRADA SAlVATORE 

1881 FERRAGAMO 

Beijing full-price stores 9 7 6 7 7 15 3 6 3 8 

Beijing Scitech Outlets no Yes Yes no Yes Yes Yes Yes no no 

Shanghai full-price stores 10 10 4 10 6 11 4 9 3 6 

Shanghai Qingpu Outlets Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes no Yes 

Tianjin full-price stores 3 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 

Tianjin Florentia Village no Yes Yes no Yes no no Yes Yes Yes 

Chengdu full-price stores 4 2 3 1 4 4 1 3 2 1 

Chengdu MGS/Times Yes Yes Yes Yes no no Yes no no no 

* Some stores in this list may be operated by distributors 

Source: Li & Fung Research, Zaihang Real Estate Consulting

SNapShOT ON ChiNa 


center in China – Florentia Village – in 

June, between Beijing and Tianjin (see page 

30). Its second center will be in Shanghai’s 

Pudong, close to the future site of Shanghai 

Disneyland. There are at least four 

more planned Florentia Villages. 

n Richly Field, a Hong Kong-listed 

development fund, has partnered with 

U.S.-based Horizon Group Properties 

to develop Globe Outlets across 

China. the first of its 10 planned centers 

will be in Changsha. 

n Outlet China Ltd., a joint venture between 

state-owned Beijing Capital Group 

and Government of Singapore Investment 

Corporation, will use the operation 

expertise of UK-based Freeport Retail 

and France-based Société de Cooperation 

Commerciale et d’Ingenierie pour les 

Marques (SCCIM) to develop at least 

10 Ballet Towns, planned to be upscale 

mixed-use, mid-density new towns anchored 

with outlet centers. 

n Japan-based Mitsui is showing 

interest in further expanding its Chinese 

outlet business, in addition to its first 

center in Ningbo. 

n Private player The Outlet! Company, 

led by a former executive of Simon 

Property Group’s Chelsea platform, 

is rapidly acquiring lands with local 

partners. In addition to two projects 

in Taiwan, The Outlet!’s first project 

in mainland China most likely will be 

in Wuhan, opening in the fall of 2012. 

The developer has planned at least five 

other outlet projects as well. 

n UK-based developer GVA also 

recently announced its interest in the 

Chinese outlet business. 

Increasing partnerships 

The operation situation these years has 

proved that all types of developers have 

unique advantages and shortcomings. To 

win this sophisticated market, it is increasingly 

difficult to achieve success independently. 

Partnerships are often formed in 

accordance with the challenges. 

State-owned enterprises can usually 

leverage their government background 

to acquire land and financing from 

state-owned banks. However, it takes 

time for them to be introduced to international 

retailers. In response, they seek 

international partners. For example, 

Bailian partnered with Wharf Holdings 

and Walton Brown in its early outlet 

operation and Outlet China Ltd. is now 


the influx of 

top brands into 

China’s FOCs 

bodes well for 

the sector. 

cooperating with Freeport and SCCIM. 

Private companies often come with 

abundant equity and strong local relationships. 

However, their shortcomings 

are leasing and management, so they 

usually engage third-party agencies or 

directly hire people with retail experience 

to address this issue. 

Foreign companies wanting to enter 

the Chinese outlet industry frequently 

have great relationships with international 

retailers. However, they need 

time to understand such China-specific 

issues as local franchise agreements 

and complicated tax codes. Thus, they 

seek local partners. For instance, RDM 

has partnered with Waitex (a Chinese 

supply chain and apparel operator), and 

Mitsui has partnered with Shanshan (a 

Chinese apparel-manufacturer). 

Failed and distressed centers 

Some outlet centers face multiple challenges 

after they open. Some aren’t properly 

designed, are difficult to access, have 

an unqualified management team, have 

the wrong retail channels, or are overwhelmed 

by other outlet competitors. 

At least two outlet centers were 

closed during the past 12 months. They 

are Chongqing Windsor Outlets (closed 

in July of 2010) and Qingdao Kingcity 

Outlets (closed in January of 2011). 

Qingdao Kingcity is a textbook example 

of a failed Chinese outlet project: 

First, being part of a large suburban 

mixed-use development, the center 

was not initially designed as an outlet 

mall. It was designated outlet when the 

developer failed to find enough fullprice 

anchor tenants. 

Second, it is just a few miles from 

Kingcity, an enclosed outlet mall that 

Shengwen opened a few months later. 

During development, neither center was 

aware of the other. 

Third, the leasing team had a tight 

schedule that it couldn’t meet, so the 

management team purchased inventory 

and opened stores to occupy space. 

Fourth, it takes time, typically up to 

three years, for an outlet mall in China to 

mature and prosper and Kingcity simply 

couldn’t sustain for such a long time. 

Many more outlet centers in China, 

especially those run by inexperienced 

local developers or rapidly expanding 

commercial real estate developers, 

are having the same issues as Qingdao 

Kingcity. High vacancy, low sales and 

low quality of brands will continue to 

trouble these distressed centers. These 

congenitally defective outlet malls will 

be difficult to turn around. 

retailers’ entry into 

outlet channels 

Chinese outlet developers and owners 

have long been struggling with 

the retail channels of global brands. 

Dealing with distributors makes it 

hard to get genuine products and good 

discounts for consumers. On the other 

side, there is a broader effort by major 

international retailers to abandon the 

licensing model and increase direct 

ownership in China. 

Thus, along with new flagship stores 

and direct-owned stores rapidly opening 

in every major Chinese city, retailers are 

seriously assessing the outlet channels 

in China. As of January 2011, the ratio 

of full-price stores to outlet stores is 

about 6:1 for luxury brands in first-tier 

Chinese cities (see chart). 

Currently, several high-quality outlet 

centers in major cities have housed a 

number of luxury retailers, a sign that 

Chinese outlet centers are being recognized 

by world-class tenants. 

China’s outlet industry is rapidly 

evolving: Chain developers are setting 

ambitious plans, often with partnerships 

to ensure the quality of the centers. Lowquality 

centers quitting the market and 

high-quality centers are attracting international 

retailers. All developers, investors, 

retailers and consultants are learning 

that careful and detailed due diligence of 

outlet retailing is a must before carrying 

out any business plans. c 

This industry update is a follow-up 

of The Rise of Factory Outlet Centers 

in Mainland China, which appeared 

in Vol. 17, No. 2, 2010 of ICSC Retail 

Property Insights and was excerpted 

in the Fall 2010 IOJ.

FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS ONLY 

Pan-European 

The Fund's 250,000 sq m portfolio comprises 11 highly successful 

pan-European designer outlet centres in Italy, Germany, Austria, 

The Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. 

ITALY; SERRAVALLE, BARBERINO, CASTEL ROMANO | AUSTRIA; PARNDORF | THE NETHERLANDS; ROERMOND 

GERMANY; BERLIN, HAMBURG | BELGIUM; DOC LUXEMBOURG | UK; CHESHIRE OAKS, SWINDON, BRIDGEND www.henderson.com/property 

European Outlet Mall Fund 

Following the success of Designer Outlet Berlin, Henderson and McArthurGlen are developing a second Designer 

Outlet scheme in Germany. The first phase in Neumünster, Hamburg will total around 100 retail units, with 

a GLA of 20,000 sq m. It will be launched in autumn 2012 with the creation of 750 jobs and will be followed by 

a second phase with a GLA of 6,000 sq m thereafter. 

David Williams 

Fund Manager 


Tel: +44 (0)20 7818 6423 

david.williams@henderson.com 

Jamie Acheson 

Asset Manager 


Tel: +44 (0)20 7818 3394 

jamie.acheson@henderson.com 

Issued and approved by Henderson Global Investors and is solely for the use of professionals, defined as Eligible Counterparties or Professionals as per the Guidance for Authorised Firms made under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and 

is not for general public distribution. Any other persons who receive this document should not rely on or act upon its contents. • Please remember that past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of an investment and the income from 

it can fall as well as rise as a result of market and currency fluctuations and you may not get back the amount originally invested. Tax assumptions may change if the law changes and the value of tax relief will depend upon individual circumstances. Due to 

the specialist nature of property investment, in certain circumstances there may be constraints on the redemption or switching of units/shares in the fund(s). The funds invest in a specialist sector that may be less liquid and produce more volatile performance 

than an investment in other investment sectors. The value of capital and income will fluctuate as property values and rental income rise and fall. The valuation of property is generally a matter of valuer’s opinion rather than fact. The amount raised when a property 

is sold may be less than the valuation. • Henderson Global Investors is the name under which Henderson Global Investors Limited (reg. no. 906355), Henderson Fund Management Limited (reg. no. 2607112), Henderson Investment Funds Limited (reg. no. 

2678531), Henderson Investment Management Limited (reg. no. 1795354), Henderson Alternative Investment Advisor Limited (reg. no. 962757), Henderson Equity Partners Limited (reg. no.2606646), (each incorporated and registered in England and 

Wales with registered office at 201 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3AE), Gartmore Investment Limited (reg. no. 1508030), Gartmore Fund Managers Limited (reg. no. 1137353), (each incorporated and registered in England and Wales with registered office 

201 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3AE) are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority to provide investment products and services. Telephone calls may be recorded and monitored.

New Outlet Centres in Moscow and St. Petersburg 

FASHION HOUSE Group is the leading developer of Outlet Centres in CEE and is an 

expert in emerging markets. The FASHION HOUSE Outlet Centres portfolio currently 

includes the management of three successful Outlet Centres in Poland and a fourth in 

Bucharest, Romania. 

FASHION HOUSE Outlet Centres in Poland (now owned by Polonia Property Fund II) have 

won the EuropaProperty ’CEE Factory Outlet of the Year’ award for the last three years 

running, with two ranked within the Top Ten Best Performing Outlet Centres in Europe 

2009. 

The winning FASHION HOUSE formula continues to develop, offering a proven and 

trusted access into new territories for the Outlet sector. Two Russian projects , one in 

Moscow and the second in St. Petersburg, are due to open in 2012. 

FASHION HOUSE Outlet Centre, Moscow 

FASHION HOUSE Moscow is a 45 minute drive from the centre of Moscow, 

on the main highway connecting Moscow with St.Petersburg, immediately 

adjacent to Sheremetyevo Airport. The Outlet Centre will be a fully enclosed 

scheme, built in keeping with traditional Russian architecture and totalling 

some 28,765 m² GLA with 192 Outlet stores, dedicated Foodcourt and over 

1,865 car parking spaces. 

leasingmoscow@fashionhouse.com 

FASHION HOUSE Outlet Centre, St. Petersburg 

FASHION HOUSE St. Petersburg will be located in the south-west part of the 

city totalling 37,000 m 2 GLA with 172 store units, dedicated Foodcourt and 

1,200 car parking spaces. The external architecture of this Outlet Centre 

has been inspired by typical buildings from the Low Countries, with which 

St. Petersburg has had trading and cultural links for centuries. 

leasingstpetersburg@fashionhouse.com 

www.fashionhouse.com/new-projects 

FASHION HOUSE 

opens two Outlet Centres in Russia 

St. Petersburg 

Russia 

Gdańsk Moscow 

Warsaw 

Sosnowiec 

Bucharest 

Russia 

Kiev 

Odessa 

Rostov

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