Vigorous sales spur more outlet growth - Value Retail News

COVER STORY 

Vigorous sales 

spur more outlet 

growth 

Plus: 

Designer Outlet Naples opens 

Outlet center sales reported 

Interest in China intensifies 

Planned center updates 

Digital marketing tips 

And much, much more… 

AMI 

Opening 

La Reggia Designer Outlet, Naples

STYLISH SOLUTION 

FOR EXCESS STOCK 

More luxury brands than ever before 

are turning to McArthurGlen’s 

designer outlet villages for a stylish 

and profitable solution for excess 

stock. Our 19 villages across Europe 

showcase great brands to 75 million 

customers a year in thoughtfully 

designed environments. 

And there’s more.We have new 

outlets under way in Hamburg and 

Athens, and we are expanding six 

of our existing centres near Naples, 

Venice, Rome, Florence, Düsseldorf, 

Berlin andVienna. 

To learn more about how we 

can help your business improve 

cashflow, contactVictor Busser 

on +44 (0)20 7535 2300 or 

v.busser@mcarthurglen.com. 

www.mcarthurglengroup.com 

ALBERTA FERRETTI 

ARMANI 

BALLANTYNE 

BALLY 

BLUMARINE 

BRIONI 

BULGARI 

BURBERRY 

CALVIN KLEIN 

COSTUME NATIONAL 

DOLCE & GABBANA 

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA 

ESCADA 

ETRO 

FENDI 

GUCCI 

JIL 

SANDER 

KENZO 

LA PERLA 

MARNI 

MISSONI 

MONCLER 

MULBERRY 

NICOLE FARHI 

PAUL SMITH 

POLO RALPH LAUREN 

PRADA 

ROBERTO CAVALLI 

SERGIO ROSSI 

TAG HEUER 

TOMMY HILFIGER 

TRUSSARDI 

VALENTINO 

VERSACE

PAGE 4 PAGE 8 

PAGE 19 

STAFF 

PETER ShARPE 

ICSC ChaIrman 

International Outlet Journal is a publication for the 

non-U.S. factory outlet industry. Copyright © 2010 

In s I d e 

CONTENTS 

Vol. 6 No. 2 SPRING 2010 

MARCuS WIlD 

ICSC ChaIrman, EUrOPEan 

advISOry bOard 

MIChAEl P. KERChEVAl 

ICSC PrESIdEnt and 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 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 

4 Sales for 2009 are reported for European centers 

8 McArthurGlen’s fifth Italian project opens 

10 Sosnowiec a winner; two Turkish FOCs are 

short listed for awards 

12 Asia Report: Chinese FOCs aren’t Western 

clones 

13 Exclusive to IOJ: 27 existing and 14 

planned Chinese FOCs 

14 Chelsea Japan opens its eighth outlet center 

in Japan 

16 Progress on 10 phase 1 centers and four 

expansions 

18 News Notes: leasing news, management 

changes and more… 

20 Trade Report: ORDA calls for transparency 

22 Deborah Clark talks about digital marketing 

Advertiser Index 

Fashion house ..................................... bC 

Globe Outlets ........................................ 15 

Gva Outlets ............................................. 5 

henderson Global Investors ............... IbC 

mcarthurGlen ......................................IFC 

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

value retail ............................................ 7 

vrn-Global Outlet news ...................... 21 

SPRiNg 2010 INteRNatIONaL OutLet JOuRNaL 3

COvER STORy 

Outlet Center Sales 

Value Retail’s 

global approach 

builds sales 

Value Retail’s marketing to international 

shoppers is paying off. 

For 2009 the developer’s nine outlet 

villages in Europe welcomed more than 

25 million international visitors who 

helped produce a 52-percent increase in 

tax-refunded sales compared to 2008. 

Shoppers from Southeast Asia 

produced a 76-percent increase in 

tax-refunded sales, and shoppers from 

China nearly doubled their spending to a 

97-percent increase in tax refunds. 

Southeast Asians represent 9 percent 

of Value Retail’s tax-refunded sales, and 

Chinese visitors represent 24 percent 

of those sales. China is Value Retail’s 

fastest-growing non-EU market. 

Collectively, in Q4 2009 the Villages recorded 

an average spend per tax refunded 

transaction of €281. Brazilians purchase 

the most in the tax-refund category, with 

an average spend of €297 per transaction, 

an increase of 6 percent compared to Q4 

2008. Southeast Asians have an average 

spend of €243, up 4 percent from 2008. 

Dalton Park sees 

solid growth 

ING’s Dalton Park ended 2009 on a 

high note with total sales for January to 

December up 8.5 percent, and comparative 

space sales up 8 percent. Spend per 

head was up by 4 percent, and footfall also 

increased by 4 percent (2.3 million through 

the door versus 2.2 million in 2008). 

Paul Donaghue, area manager for Marks 

& Spencer, says he is delighted with the 

performance of the Dalton Park unit. 

“The Marks & Spencer outlet store 

at Dalton Park delivered its best-ever 

Christmas trading and also broke quite a 

sales record on the way. Despite the current 

challenging economic environment, 

M&S outlet at Dalton Park delivered a 

vast like-for-like sales growth. We’ve also 

experienced a big increase in customer 

conversion and average spend values in 

the past 12 months.” 

4 INteRNatIONaL OutLet JOuRNaL SPRiNg 2010 

ING’s seven-year-old Dalton Park outlet center in Murton, England saw healthy increases 

in both sales and footfall for 2009. 

The 160,000-sf center, which opened 

in 2003, is in Murton, England, 30 minutes 

from Newcastle. 

Land Securities sees 

7 percent holiday boost 

Two outlet properties in the UK, the 

320,000-sf Galleria in Hatfield and the 

324,030-sf Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, 

each saw a 7 percent increase in 

sales during the Christmas trading period. 

Both outlet centers are owned and 

managed by Land Securities and have 

continued to flourish despite the overall 

economy. 

Gunwharf Quays, which opened in 

2000, saw a 4.4 percent increase in footfall 

over Christmas compared with 2008, 

with many retailers reporting record sales. 

The Galleria, which opened in 1998, 

saw spend per head up 7 percent and 

leisure sales up more than 8 percent 

year-on-year for the fourth quarter. 

even bad weather 

doesn’t dampen 

Bideford sales 

January trading figures for Atlantic 

Village in Bideford, England, were up 20 

percent compared to 2009. The 95,000sf 

center, owned by Development 

Securities PLC and leased by Realm, has 

been riding a crest of new openings and 

higher footfall. In 2009, Café Lily’s, M&S 

Outlet, Hush Puppies and Yeomans Outdoors 

opened in the center, and Cotton 

Traders increased its space to become its 

largest unit in the UK. 

Even a spell of bad weather in early 

January – which forced the 10-yearold 

center to close for almost two days 

-- didn’t significantly affect sales, says 

center manager Jane McLeod. 

“We’re bucking the trend with our retail 

performance,” she says. “We have seen 

a significant upturn in sales, especially on 

luggage, footwear and outdoor clothing 

ranges. With such a good start to the year 

we can only see it getting better. Obviously 

our trading success has not gone unnoticed 

… we already have a number of blue chip 

brands lined up to join us in 2010.” 

Kids clothes fly 

at McG centers 

McArthurGlen’s seven UK designer 

outlet centers enjoyed strong Christmas 

trading, despite suffering through the 

coldest winter in decades. 

From Nov. 30, 2009 to Jan. 3, 2010, 

sales increased 4 percent at McArthur- 

Glen’s seven centers compared to the same 

selling period last year. The real portfolio 

(Continued on page 6)

expertise 

Nobody knows Outlets better 

Current projects in: 

• Bulgaria • Czech Republic • Denmark • Germany 

• Hungary • Italy • Poland • Romania • Russia • Serbia 

• Slovenia • Spain • Switzerland • Ukraine 

For more information please contact: 

Brendon O’Reilly, 

Director, GVA Grimley Ltd. 

+44 (0)7831 381 405 

brendon.o’reilly@gvagrimley.co.uk 

www.gvagrimley.co.uk/outlets

COvER STORy 

(Continued from page 4) 

hero was childrenswear. Sales jumped 63 

percent in that category as families looked 

to stretch their pound further. 

Boxing Day sales on Dec. 26, 2009 

were buoyant, as well, with Cheshire 

Oaks Designer Outlet near Chester 

experiencing an increase of more than 

20 percent compared to Boxing Day 

2008. 

The number of sales transactions for 

the period rose by 10 percent compared 

with the same period last year, and 

designer collections performed particularly 

well, with sales up 20 percent as 

Sunny skies have been shining on Park 

Avenue Fashion Outlet in Bilbao, Spain. 

The 200,000-sf outlet center produced 

a 12 percent increase in like-for-like sales 

for 2009, and the scheme welcomed 

almost 3 million visitors last year, a 16 

percent increase compared to 2008. 

Park Avenue is a component of Megapark 

Barakaldo, which was acquired by 

Resolution Property in 2006 and is managed 

by Jones Lang LaSalle. Megapark is 

the largest retail and leisure destination in 

Spain. The project includes an 11-screen 

multiplex and IMAX cinema; 929,000 sf 

of big box retail and free covered parking 

with direct access to stores. 

Michel Nangia, senior manager at 

Resolution Property, attributes the 

growing success of the outlet center, 

which opened in 2007, to the company’s 

management style. 

“Our proactive, hands-on asset management 

approach has significantly helped us 

navigate what has been a tough time this 

past year,” he says, adding that Resolution’s 

attention to detail has been noticed and 

appreciated by the center tenants. 

For instance, Egoitz Barturen, store 

manager at Puma says, “Although we 

have been trading in the center for only 

14 months, the results regarding footfall, 

capture rate and sales could not be any better. 

Our 2009 was superb, and the forecast 

for 2010 has the same positive trend not 

only for our chain, but for the whole outlet 

center here at the Megapark.” 

Javier Anton, coordinator of GEOX in 

Northern Spain, says his productivity expectations 

have been exceeded. “Our 2009 


shoppers embraced party attire. Overall, 

holiday footfall rose by 1.5 percent. 

McArthurGlen Designer Outlets are 

located in Ashford, Bridgend, Chester, 

Livingston, East Midlands, Swindon and 

York. 

Sales, footfall 

soar for Neinver 

Neinver, the second largest operator 

in Europe (after Henderson Global Outlet 

Mall Fund), has posted a 28 percent 

increase in turnover for 2009 compared 

with 2008. Additionally, footfall at Nein- 

Anatomy of an Increase: 

Park Avenue’s success based on data and teamwork 

results have been very positive, exceeding 

expectations, and quite impressive, considering 

the generalized and negative situation 

of retailers in this economy.” 

One tool Resolution has used to help 

retailers increase their sales has been the 

simple employment of traffic counters. 

“We installed bespoke counters 

[supplied by PFM] at the entrance of 

the center and in every store,” Nangia 

explains. “All of our retailers provide us 

with their turnover figures, and when 

combined with the footfall flow into 

their stores, we’re able to calculate the 

sales conversion rate. 

“This information is entered into 

PFM’s website, which then provides us 

with a weekly report with key perfor- 

ver’s 11 outlet centers in Italy, Germany, 

Spain, Poland and Portugal increased by 

11 percent to 30 million visitors compared 

to 27 million in 2008. 

“The good results registered in 2009 

show that the outlet concept continues 

to strengthen in Europe as one of the 

retail concepts that consumers like best,” 

says CEO Manuel Lagares. “We’ve seen 

this sector’s appeal gradually intensify for 

the last two years.” 

Neinver also manages the Irus European 

Retail Property Fund, which focuses 

on the acquisition of outlet centers and 

other retail assets across Europe. c 

Resolution Property attributes the success of Park Avenue, a component of the 

Megapark Barakaldo in Bilbao, Spain, to the company’s hands-on management and use of 

technology to help drive sales and footfall. 

mance indicators. The report highlights 

the key strengths at the center and alerts 

us to any problems at an early stage, 

enabling us to work closely with our retailers 

to assist them in improving their 

sales conversion rates.” 

The center management team frequently 

meets with tenants, he says, working 

with chains to drive sales through marketing 

support, signage and other initiatives. 

Park Avenue’s catchment within a 

90-minute drive is 3.5 million people, including 

more than 1 million living within 

15 minutes of the project. The average 

household income for the market is 28 

percent higher than the national average. 

The market’s average household spend 

on retail goods is €11,616. c

NaPlES 

mcarthurGlen goes neapolitan 

with La reggia designer Outlet 

la Reggia Designer Outlet’s architecture reflects the Rococo style of the Royal Palace, 

La Reggia di Caserta, built by the Bourbon kings, as well as the Mediterranean styles 

and Byzantine domes seen on the nearby Amalfi Coast. 


The center also has 

an impressive solar 

system to handle 

its energy demands. 

by linda humphers 

Editor in Chief 

More than 100,000 people who 

attended the February opening 

of McArthurGlen’s fifth designer 

center in Italy demonstrated that 

Italians are anything but blasé about the 

outlet concept. And they’re certainly 

not blasé about how McArthurGlen 

defines outlet retailing. 

La Reggia Designer Outlet is in Marcianise, 

near Caserta in the Campania 

region, 30 km north of Naples. Mount 

Vesuvius bides her time in the background; 

a gazillion pizzerias keep the 5.5 

million people living within 90 minutes of 

the center well fed, and the Naples airport 

is just 20 minutes away. Besides being 

Italy’s most populous region, Campania 

is also a popular destination, attracting 21 

million tourists each year, who are lured 

by the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, and the 

islands of Capri and Ischia, as well as the 

historic remains of Pompeii. 

The 17,500-m 2 phase 1 opened 80 

percent leased with strong fashion brands 

and a selection of cafes and restaurants, 

including well-known local names. Among 

those brands to open in the first phase 

are Blumarine, Calvin Klein, Gianfranco 

Ferré, Hugo Boss, Liu Jo, Patrizia Pepe, 

Pinko, Pollini, Replay and Valentino. 

The 9,000-m 2 phase 2 is already 

under way, with the first half opening 

later this year and the second half in the 

second quarter of 2011. The center will 

have 140 stores when completed. 

Campania is the most densely populated 

region in Italy, with 5.5 million 

inhabitants living within a 90-minute 

drive of the center. 

La Reggia Designer Outlet, which is 

McArthurGlen’s 19th designer out

let village in Europe, includes one of 

Europe’s biggest solar energy projects 

in a retail scheme, with 2,700 m 2 of 

solar panels integrated into the roof. 

The panels will produce sufficient solar 

power to satisfy 30 percent of the centre’s 

energy demands. 

McArthurGlen chairman J.W. Kaempfer 

says, “It is with great pride that 

we open our fifth designer outlet in 

a country which is home to so many 

famous international fashion brands and 

which is also one of the top countries in 

the world for tourism.” 

Jacopo Mazzei, CEO and President of 

RDM-Gruppo Fingen, McArthurGlen’s 

joint venture partner in Italy, says: “This is 

the fifth center we have developed jointly 

with McArthurGlen since we opened 

Italy’s first designer outlet in Serravalle in 

2000, and which has now become Europe’s 

largest designer outlet. Campania 

is an ideal location, given the size of the 

catchment, the importance of the region’s 

tourism, and the center’s location adjacent 

to the Naples-Rome motorway.” 

McArthurGlen’s other designer outlet 

villages in Italy are Serravalle Designer 

Outlet near Milan; Castel Romano Designer 

Outlet near Rome; Barberino Designer 

Outlet near Florence; and Veneto 

Designer Outlet near Venice. The five 

Italian centers will total 150,000 m 2 

once La Reggia is completed. c 

A good selection of cafes and restaurants, many opened by local celebrity chefs, is an 

important element at McArthurGlen’s La Reggia Designer Outlet. 

lA REGGIA DESIGNER OuTlETS TENANT lIST 

Amina Rubinacci 

Aspesi 

Baci & Abbracci Factory 

Store 

Bagatelle 

Baldinini 

Ballantyne 

Bialetti Industrie 

Bikkembergs 

Blumarine 

Bric’s 

Brooksfield 

Calvin Klein Collection 

Calvin Klein Jeans 

Calvin Klein Underwear 

Calzedonia – Intimissimi – 

Tezenis 

Camper 

Celyn B – Elisabetta Franchi 

Cerruti 1881 

Corso Roma 

Cotton Belt 

David Mayer Namen 

Desiree 

Diesel 

Dixie 

Escada 

Fabi 

Ferre 

Ferre Freddy 

Gas 

Gattinoni 

Golden Lady 

Guess 

Gutteridge 

Hangar Eighteen 

Harmont & Blaine 

Il Gufo 

Kathy Van Zeeland 

Levi’s 

Lui-Jo 

Luisa Spagnoli 

Massimo Rebecchi 

Maui Bear 

Merrell 

Modus Beauty Store 

Motostore 

Nannini 

Napapuri 

Nautica 

Parah 

Patrizia Pepe Firenze 

Pinko 

Piquadro 

Pirelli 

Pollini 

Pupa 

RCR 

Replay 

Rifle 

Tailor Club 

The End 

Timberland 

Tommy Hilfiger 

Tosca Blu 

Valentino 

VFG – Valentino Factory 

Store 

Watch & See 

Yamamay 


aWaRDS 

FOCs are finalists For iCSC awards 

Two outlet centers in Turkey are 

among the finalists in ICSC’s 

2010 European Shopping 

Centre Awards. The 2010 awards 

will be presented at the 35th ICSC 

European Conference, 28-29 April 

2010 in Prague, The Czech Republic. 

In total, 19 of 32 entries made it onto 

the short list. The categories are: 

l small new centers (less than 30,000 m 2 ) 

l medium new centers (30,000 – 45,000 m 2 ) 

l large new centers (45,000 – 80,000 m 2 ) 

l very large centers (Over 80,000 m 2 ) 

l refurbishments and extensions 

l and specialized centers. 

The Turkish outlet projects, both in 

Istanbul, were nominated in the specialized 

category. 

The 44,149-m 2 Optimum Outlet has 

157 stores and is located in the rapidly 

developing Anatolian side of Istanbul. 

Renaissance Development owns the 

center, which opened in 2008. 

Bayraktar Group’s 106,000-m 2 Via 

Port Outlet Shopping, which opened 

in 2008, has 183 stores throughout its 

open design concept. c 

FH Sosnowiec wins CEE honors 

Fashion house Outlet Centre Sosnowiec opened in Poland in 2008, and it’s awardwinning 

expansion opened in 2009. 


Renaissance Development’s Optimum Outlet is on the rapidly developing Anatolian 

side of Istanbul. 

bayraktar Group’s Via Port Outlet Shopping is a marvel of shopping and dining in an 

open-air setting with nearly 200 shops and cafes. 

Fashion house Outlet Centre 

Sosnowiec Phase 3 has been 

named Factory Outlet of the Year 

by EuropaProperty magazine’s CEE Retail 

Real Estate Awards. 

Fashion House Outlet Centre Gdansk 

Phase 2 and Designer Outlet Center 

Salzburg were short-listed for the award. 

The Fashion House centers, both in Poland, 

are owned by Polonia Property Funds 

and were developed by Fashion House, 

which continues to manage and lease them. 

MacArthurGlen is the developer of the 

Salzburg center, a redevelopment project 

that opened in Austria in September 2009. 

The awards, now in their second year, 

honor retailing in Central and Eastern 

Europe in 27 categories. c

aSia 

Chinese outlet centers 

aren’t Western clones 

by linda humphers 

Editor in Chief 

At least three U.S.-based companies 

are providing outlet expertise 

and consulting – up to a 

point – to Chinese developers planning 

to open outlet centers in the People’s 

Republic. The U.S. companies are: 

l Chicago-based Urban Retail Properties, 

through its Urban Retail Asia office 

and assisted by outlet veteran Ron Simkin, 

is consulting with Shanghai Textile 

on a project scheduled to open in 2011 

l Leto Consulting, whose principals 

include Peter Leckerling and outlet veteran 

Phil Palisoul, is providing planning, 

leasing and management consulting to 

two Chinese developers 

l Horizon Group Properties, which 

operates five U.S. outlet centers, is working 

with a Chinese developer to open as 

many as eight outlet projects. 

According to Peter Leckerling, managing 

director of Leto Consulting, the 

global economic crisis has had little effect 

on development in many Chinese provinces. 

Taking the lead from the central 

government in Beijing, which in November 

of 2008 announced a €430 billion 

stimulus package, government officials 

are encouraging developers to increase 

the pace of outlet development. 

“As the outlet model isn’t urban,” 

Leckerling explains, “outlet centers can 

be built on many non-urban plots that 

the government has released for public 

auction. This is enticing since China’s 

urban land is often overpriced and 

always overcrowded.” 

Leckerling adds that most Chinese 

outlet centers don’t embrace the outletvillage 

footprint used in the U.S. and European 

Union countries. Instead, Chinese 

outlet centers are usually large buildings 

subdivided into numerous squares, typically 

ranging from 300 sf to 500 sf. 

Furthermore, the tenants are primarily 

either developer-owned stores filled 

with goods bought at wholesale, or 


Shanghai Textile is redeveloping 

12 buildings in the Yangpu section of 

Shanghai, China’s second-largest city. 

The outlet center will be in a 36,000-m 2 

structure on the site. 

shops run by local franchisees who 

pay percentage rent only. 

There are exceptions, of course. The 

tenants at Shanghai Outlets in Qingpu 

are legitimate national franchisees of international 

brands such as Nike, Adidas, 

Zegna, Esprit, Nine West, Hugo Boss, 

Benetton and others. 

“But many brands realize that customers 

in secondary cities don’t have 

the purchasing power to make an outlet 

store profitable,” Leckerling says. “So 

these non-traditional outlets have allowed 

development to move forward in 

the secondary markets.” 

China’s unique approach to development 

and tenanting is initially daunting 

to Westerners, even those who’ve been 

in the outlet business for a long time. 

Gary Skoien, CEO of Horizon Group 

Properties told IOJ that he first started 

looking at China on his own, without 

a partner. “Then I realized that I could 

spend the rest of my life trying to figure 

it out,” he says. 

Horizon formed a partnership in February 

with a publicly traded real estate firm 

that specializes in commercial and residential 

development. Three unnamed sites are 

currently under control and five additional 

sites are under study, Skoien says. 

In contrast with Horizon Group, 

Urban Retail has been doing business 

in China for several years. The partnership 

with Shanghai Textile Company will 

result in the redevelopment of a centuryold 

factory into Shanghai Fashion Center. 

The outlet-retail portion of the project 

is one of six elements in the complex, 

the others being food and beverage, a 

theater, a VIP club, office space and a 

hotel. The site, in the Yangpu district, 

has 12 buildings, and the outlets will be 

in a three-level, 36,000-m 2 structure. 

The developer’s main hope is that the 

center will be a catalyst for returning 

Shanghai to its former status as a global

fashion capital. 

According to Scott Chen, CEO for 

Urban Retail Asia, leasing is progressing 

well. “We are in active negotiations with 

a wide range of prospective tenants, 

such as Dior, Celine, Burberry, Coach 

and lots of other brands.” 

Leto Consulting has been working 

since 2009 with CRED Real Estate 

Group to develop one of Shanghai’s 

first suburban regional projects, the 

65,000-m 2 Trendworld Mall. About 55 

percent of the GLA will be a mix of 

traditional retail and outlet stores. 

The reason for the mix, Leckerling 

says, is “our research showed that the 

local customer’s purchasing power is 

more in line with factory outlet pricepoints. 

In this way, international brands 

are still be able to tap into a very strong 

Outlet Centers in China 

27 existing outlet projects, 11 planned to open within 2 years (listed by opening date) 

name of mall m2 of GLa, GS or Land Opening date Location developer 

beijing Yansha Outlets 19,832 m2 GLa 2002 beijing yansha 

Shanghai Qingpu Outlets 110,000 m2 GS 2006 Shanghai bailian 

harbin Yansha Outlets 32,000 m2 GLa 2006 harbin, heilongjiang yansha 

Foxtown 68,000 m2 GS 2006 Shanghai Studio Silvio tarchini 

Guangzhou Teemal ThC 18,000 m2 GS 2006 Guangzhou, Guangdong 

Suzhou CS heshun Outlets 50,000 m2 GLa 2007 Suzhou, Jiangsu CSLand 

Chengdu MGS Outlets 50,000 m2 Land 2007 Chengdu, Sichuan mGS 

Shangjie Yaxing Outlets 40,000 m2 GLa 2007 Zhengzhou, henan yaxing 

Zhangjiagang hong Kong City Outlets 30,000 m2 GLa 2007 Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu 

Aika Outlets 15,000 m2 GS 2008 beijing aika 

Kosmall 13,000 m2 GS 2008 hefei, anhui Kosmall 

West Outlets 80,000 m2 GS 2008 Chongqing taiwan Pacific Group 

Zhengzhou Yaxing Outlets 60,000 m2 GLa 2008 Zhengzhou, henan yaxing 

hangzhou EX Outlets 8,000 m2 GLa 2008 hangzhou, Zhejiang 

Chongqing Windsor Outlets 33,000 m2 GS 2009 Chongqing CGr 

Changchun Eurasia Outlets 25,000 m2 GS 2009 Changchun, Jilin Eurasia Group 

Energetic Orient brand Discount Shopping Plaza 68,000 m2 GS 2009 beijing Oriental Foundation 

Zhengzhou Kingcity Outlets 30,000 m2 GLa 2009 Zhengzhou, henan Powerlong 

beijing Scitech Premium Outlet Mall 150,000 m2 GS 2009 beijing Scitech 

Meilanhu Outlets 70,000 m2 GS 2009 Shanghai 

Jiangsu Wanhe Outlets Park 600,000 m2 GS 2009 Changzhou, Jiangsu 

Shanghai Fashion Center Global Outlets Park 120,000 m2 GS 2009 Shanghai 

Chengdu Times Outlet 44,000 m2 GS 2009 Chengdu, Sichuan Wharf holdings 

Tongxiang hong Kong City Outlets 60,000 m2 GS 2010 tongxiang, Zhejiang houyuan 

Qingdao Kingcity Outlets 38,000 m2 GS 2010 Qingdao, Shandong Powerlong 

Ningbo Outlets 2010 ningbo, Zhejiang Zhejiang Power 

Nantong Outlets 30,000 m2 GLa 2010 nantong, Jiangsu Xintonghai 

*PlANNED OuTlET PROJECTS IN ChINA 

Outlet China - South China Flagship Center 652,915 m2 Land 2010 Foshan, Guangdong Outlets China Ltd 

Outlet China - East China Flagship Center 1,300,000 m2 Land 2010 huzhou, Zhejiang Outlets China Ltd 

Changsha Outlets 160,000 m2 GLa 2010 Changsha, hunan richly Field 

Tianjin Florence Town Outlets 400,000 m2 Land 2010 tianjin Waitex 

Changshu Outlets 84,000 m2 GS 2010 Changshu, Jiangsu Zhongtai 

haining Outlets 75,000 m2 GLa 2011 haining, Zhejiang bailian 

haixi Outlets 2,000,000 m2 Land 2011 Fuzhou, Fujian richly Field 

Ningbo Outlets Project NTD 110,000 m2 Land 2011 ningbo, Zhejiang Shanshan, mitsui, Itochu 

Jiangyin Outlets 2011 Jiangyin, Jiangsu 

consumer market.” 

Leto is also working with a development 

group in Ningbo’s Fenghua town, 

the ancestral home of Chiang Kai-shek, 

near the beautiful Tingxia Lake. 

“The project will be called an outlet 

center,” Leckerling says, “but the model 

is more Chinese, with substantial food, 

beverage and entertainment options 

included.” c 

Shanghai Fashion Outlets 36,000 m2 GLa 2011 Shanghai Shanghai textile Company 

Wealth Outlets 13,000 m2 GS planned nanchang, Jiangxi hongkelong 

*horizon Group Properties’ eight sites aren’t listed as no details were available by press time. 

Source: Information for this chart comes to IOJ courtesy of yiqun Wang, who is an intern in the research department at ICSC in new york. his family’s business, 

Zaihang, offers retail consulting services to developers in China and was a partner on a planned outlet center in ningbo. 


aSia 

Chelsea Japan opens 

ami Premium Outlets 

The center is the 

developer’s eighth 

outlet center to 

open in nine years. 

Simon Property Group has 

decided to skip developing retail 

centers in China, at least for now, 

but its subsidiary, Chelsea Japan, continues 

making strides in Japan. 

In July 2009, Chelsea Japan opened 

Ami Premium Outlets, its eighth outlet 

center in Japan. CJ is a joint venture 

of Simon Property Group (40 percent 

ownership) and Mitsubishi Estate Co., 

Ltd. (60 percent ownership). 

Ami Premium Outlets opened on a 

bright day and was greeted, as usual, 

by thousands of Japanese shoppers 

eagerly waiting for speeches to end 

and ribbons to be cut so they could 

begin shopping. Videos on YouTube 

tell the tale. 

The center’s 225,000-sf phase 1 

opened fully leased with 100 tenants, 

including Adidas, Diesel, Fauchon, 

Lanvin en Bleu, Mayson Grey, Ray Ban, 

True Religion and Viaggio Blue. Additional 

phases could bring the center to 

a 360,000-sf build-out. 

Ami Premium Outlets is in Ibaraki 

Prefecture, about 35 miles or a 50-minute 

drive northeast of central Tokyo. The 

41-acre site lies near the Ami-Higashi 

interchange on the Ken-O Expressway 

(Metropolitan Inter-City Expressway), 11 

miles from Tsukuba and 20 miles from 

Narita International Airport. 

About 11 million people live within a 

30-mile radius of Ami. 

Chelsea Japan’s 2.1 million-sf portfolio 

includes Gotemba Premium Outlets 

and Sano Premium Outlets (both serving 

Tokyo); Rinku Premium Outlets 

(Osaka); Kobe-Sanda Premium Outlets 

(Kobe-Osaka); Sendai-Izumi Premium 

Outlets (Sendai); Toki Premium 

Outlets (Nagoya) and Tosu Premium 

Outlets (Fukuoka). c 


Chelsea Japan’s 225,000-sf Ami Premium Outlets opened fully leased with 100 tenants. 

AMI PREMIuM OuTlET TENANT lIST 

Ace 

Adidas 

Asics 

Barclay 

BCBG Maxazria 

Beams 

Billabong 

Brooks Brothers 

Castelbajac 

Ciaopanic 

Citizen 

Coach 

Cole Haan 

Combi 

Crazy Crepes 

Cricket 

Delifrance 

Diesel 

Dou Dou 

Edwin 

Elle Paris 

Energie 

Enoteca D’oro Premio 

Fauchon 

Fossil 

Fukuske 

Gap 

Global Work 

Gotcha 

Hakka 

Hawkins 

Hush Puppies 

Jayro 

Jin’s 

Journal Standard 

Junmen 

Kaneki 

Katharine Hamnett 

Keawjai 

Kihachi Soft Cream 

Kim Kim Jang 

Kobe Motomachi Doria 

Lafuma 

Lanvin en Bleu 

Laundry 

Lego 

Lowrys Farm 

Madras 

Marithé François Girbaud 

Max & Co. 

Mayson Grey 

McGregor 

Michel Klein 

Millet 

Miss Sixty 

Mitsumine 

Miyatake Sanuki Seimensho 

MK Michel Klein Homme 

Moussy 

Nara Camicie 

New Yorker 

Nice Claup 

Nine West 

Off & On 

Op 

OshKosh B’Gosh 

Override 

Pageboy 

Pal Zileri 

Plaza 

Ra-men Ichiya 

Ray Cassin 

Ray-Ban 

Rienda 

Rockport 

Rodeo Crowns 

Ru OlOl 

Sally Scott 

Sandaya Honten 

Schiatti 

Seiko 

Sly 

Spick and Span 

St. Cousair 

Sylvanian Families 

Tachikichi 

Taylormade 

T-fal 

TGM 

Tommy Hilfiger 

Topkapi 

Triumph 

True Religion Brand Jeans 

Tsumori Chisato 

Tully’s Coffee 

Under Armour 

Union Station 

Urban Research 

Vans 

Vérité 

Viaggio Blu 

Vicky 

Visaruno OlOl 

W Closet

PlaNNED CENTERS UPDaTE 

Neinver developing 

Six phase 1 projects 

NEINVER IS GOING to be busy for the 

next two years developing one center 

in Spain, one center in Portugal, two in 

France and two in Poland. The Spanish 

developer will also be expanding four 

existing centers. By the end of 2012, 

AS OF MID-FEbRuARY, Norwegian 

Outlet Center was 90 percent leased 

and well on its way to a June opening. 

Located in Vestby, the 118,400-sf 

planned center is 25 minutes from 

the Oslo city center and nine minutes 

from Tusenfryd, Norway’s largest 

amusement park. The center is 

on the E6, within an hour’s drive of 

35 percent of Norway’s population. 

Developer of the project is 

Norwegian Outlet, whose principal is 

° 

Adne Sondral, ° an Olympic medalist in 

the 1,500-meter speed skating event. 

He won the gold 

medal in 1998 at 

Nagano and the silver 

medal in 1992 in 

Albertville. During 

the2010Olympicsin 

° 

Vancouver, Sondral 

was a speed skating 

commentator 

for a Norwegian 

sportscast. 

IOJ caught up 

° 

with Sondral dur- 

ing the 2010 

Winter Olympics in 

February to ask the 

burning question, 

“Which is harder, 

winning an Olympic 

medal or opening 

an outlet center?” 


Neinver will manage 354,400 m 2 of outlet 

GLA in six European countries. 

The 12,600-m 2 first phase of Factory 

La Coruña in the province of Galicia, 

in northwestern Spain, will open during 

the 4th quarter of 2010. The center, 

which is just 2 km from the airport and 

9 km from Coruña, will be Neinver’s 

fifth in Spain. Neinver plans a second 

Norwegian Outlet is 

Olympian’s next goal 

when I really want something I give it 

everything I have. I did so with skating 

and I am doing so in setting up 

Norwegian Outlet. It has been challenging 

at times with financial crises 

and regulatory problems, but skating 

had other challenges. 

“In my experience if you really want 

something, you will make it happen. 

Norwegian Outlet seems to be one of 

the more successful outlet endeavors 

in Europe, considering that it’s more 

than 90 percent leased four months 

before the opening. But we still have 

to work hard to 

drive revenue and 

to make our tenants 

as profitable 

as possible. I have 

always needed 

clear goals in life. 

Right now, the success 

of Norwegian 

Outlet is my Olympic 

medal.” 

Signed tenants 

include Abecita, 

Arts & Crafts, 

Bergans, Bjorn 

Borg, Coast, Karen 

Miller, Columbia, 

° 

° 

Adne Sondral, who is developing Doite, Follestad, 

Norwegian Outlets, won the 1998 Gant, Helly Hansen, 

Olympic gold medal in speed skating House of Brands, 

in Nagano, Japan. 

Hoyer, Hugo Boss, 

“Winning the Olympics was my big IC Companys, Josef Seibel, Le Creuset, 

dream since I was a small child,” Levis,Lillevinkel,Mexx,MXDC,NoaNoa, 

° Sondral says. “I had to work hard Norrona, Peak Performance, Polarn 

for 20 years to reach that goal. It’s o Prylet, Puma, QuickSilver, Read, 

possible to build an outlet village SamsoeSamsoe, SEB, Timberland, 

within a shorter period of time. But Tommy Hilfiger, Triumph and Vans. c 

phase of 8,900 m 2 as well. 

In France, Neinver is developing in 

partnership with MAB Development 

the 18,000-m 2 Honfleur The Style 

Outlets. The site is on the western coast 

of Normandy, near the beach at Pont 

de Normandie. The center will open in 

spring 2011. 

Also in France, Roppenheim The 

Style Outlets is scheduled to open during 

the 4th quarter 2011. The 25,500-m 2 

scheme is in the Alsace region of northeast 

France, next to the French-German 

border, 46 km north of Strasbourg. 

Neinver’s development partner MAB 

acquired the site in October from Freeport, 

which had pre-let more than 30 

percent of the space. 

In Portugal, Algarve The Style Outlets 

is scheduled to open in 2012. The 

23,000-m 2 center, which will be Neinver’s 

second in Portugal, is near Faro, 

famous for its beaches, flamingoes and 

high influx of visitors. 

In Poland, Neinver will open Factory 

Krakow and Factory Warsaw, both 

36,000 m 2 . 

Neinver will add 14,000 m 2 to Vila 

do Conde in Portugal; 4,400 m 2 to 

Zweibrücken in Germany; 3,800 m 2 to 

Vicolungo in Italy; and 3,000 m 2 to Factory 

Sevilla Aeropuerto in Spain. 

local community 

gets preview of 

Soltau Outlet 

GVA OuTlETS and Mutschler Development 

Group got a positive response from 

the community at a recent preview outlining 

the plans for the 10,000-m 2 Soltau 

Outlet set to open in 2011 in Germany. 

The preview included an accounting 

of the center’s design and prospective 

tenants, plus the impact the scheme will 

have on the area’s employment, revenue 

and tourism. In the audience were local 

government officials, the mayor and key 

councilors, business owners and tourism 

representatives. 

The center site is in the Luneburger 

Heide region near the cities of Hamburg, 

Bremen and Hanover. It is across 

from Heide-Park, one of the largest 

theme parks in northern Germany, and 

along the A7 motorway, accessible to the 

area’s 2 million annual visitors.

“The key factor here is that this is a 

new retail concept for the area,” says 

Brendon O’Reilly, director of GVA 

Outlets, “so it is important that everyone 

understand the concept and how 

it works. It is also important that the 

benefits are explained and misguided 

fears are laid to rest, as there is always 

confusion between out-of-town retail 

parks and outlet centers, which operate 

in a very different way. 

“The community now understands 

and is delighted that we are coming. 

Considering how difficult planning permission 

can be for outlets in Germany, 

this support is a real achievement.” 

Ferrara FOC plans 

November opening 

A NOVEMbER opening is planned for 

Costruzioni Generali Italia’s Occhiobello 

Outlet Village. The 12,800-m 2 center 

will be home to 74 tenants, predominately 

Italian and French brands. 

OOV is in the town of Occhiobello, 

between Veneto and Emilia Romagna. 

The site will serve two of the provinces 

with the highest per capita disposable 

income in Italy, 20 minutes from 

Rovigo and five minutes from Ferrara. 

The catchment includes some 3 million 

people residing in Padua, Bologna and 

Venice. The site, on A13 Padua-Bologna 

Highway, has full planning approvals. 

In Cannes in November, Francesco 

Bordignon, of consultant Kboard, said 

the scheme was 45 percent leased. 

“The demographics of the area are 

more like Northern Europe,” he told 

IOJ. “It’s not like Southern Italy.” 

ING to expand 

Dalton Park 

ChIlDRENSWEAR retailer Designer 

Kidz opened earlier this year at ING 

Real Estate’s Dalton Park in Murton, 

England. 

But the big news at the 160,000-sf 

center is that planning has begun for a 

€27 million expansion. Last year ING 

dropped efforts to sell the project, 

which had brought interest but no 

proper offers, and instead decided to 

go ahead with a major expansion. The 

second phase, expected to create up to 

Work is progressing on the 25,000-m 2 first phase of Sicilia Outlet Village, 

as seen from this photo taken on Feb. 4. Located in the middle of Sicily, one 

hour from Taormina and 90 minutes from Palermo, the scheme will open in the 

autumn. Premium Retail and Gruppo Percassi are developing the center. 

500 jobs, will include a cinema, supermarket, 

hotel and petrol station. 

Dalton Park, which opened in 2003, 

has weathered the recession and is now 

in good shape with footfall up 6 percent 

and sales up 10 percent (see page 4). 

ING hopes to gain approval for the 

expansion this year and begin working 

on it by the end of 2011. The center, 

just off the A19 on the site of Murton 

Colliery, was originally granted outline 

planning permission in 2001. 

FOCs in Japan, 

Korea expand 

ChElSEA JAPAN opened the 

176,000-sf phase 2 of Kobe-Sanda 

Premium Outlets in December, adding 

90 new tenants. The center now totals 

180 stores and 371,000 sf. New tenants 

include Armani, Helmut Lang, A Bathing 

Ape and Dsquared2, as well as a full 

range of men’s brands, including Edifice 

and Paul Smith. 

Chelsea Japan also broke ground on 

phase 3 of Toki Premium Outlets on 

Oct. 29, 2009. This expansion will add 

another 30 stores, bringing the total 

to 140. The 231,000-sf center, which 

opened in 2005, is located in the Toki 

Plasma Research Park. 

Shinsegae Chelsea opened a small 

expansion of Yeoju Premium Outlets 

(Korea) on Dec. 18, 2009. The 15 new 

stores include Bally, Michael Kors, Moschino, 

Loro Piana, Leonard, Nina Ricci, 

Tumi and Issey Miyake. The center is 36 

miles southeast of Seoul. 

Moulin de Nailloux 

gets new owner 

before it opens 

IN FEbRuARY, the European property 

investment company Corio acquired 

75 percent of the planned Moulin de 

Nailloux in Toulouse, France, from developer 

COGEP. The acquisition price 

was €44 million. 

The outlet center’s 22,100-m 2 first 

phase is set to open in June 2011. The 

new-construction outlet village, in 

Chemin du Gril, Le Moulin, 30 km 

south of Toulouse, was 50 percent 

leased as of March 1. An 8,800-m 2 

phase 2 will open in 2014. 

COGEP retains 25 percent ownership, 

and its subsidiary Advantil will 

continue leasing, marketing and managing 

the center, including the planned 

second phase. Corio has first rights to 

acquire the remaining 25 percent of the 

property in 2016. 

As of Dec. 31, 2009, Corio’s €5.7 billion 

portfolio included 1.5 million m 2 in 

105 projects, of which 91 are shopping 

centers. The company’s pipeline portfolio 

includes approximately 18 phase 1 

projects and 14 expansions. c 


NEWS NOTES 

Whiteley Village 

To be leveled 

WhEN WhITElEY Village Outlet 

Shopping opened in Hampshire in 

November 1999, it was the 18 th outlet 

scheme to open in England. Six months 

later, the 324,030-sf Gunwharf Quays 

opened in Portsmouth, just 15 minutes 

south of Whitely Village. The smaller 

center never got much traction, and it is 

now slated for demolishment. 

Planners have given a green light 

to a €112 million scheme on the 

site. Whiteley Co-Owners, developers 

of the new project, will tear down 

Whiteley Village, causing at least 


one council member, probably not 

a developer, to wonder what was 

wrong with the existing buildings. 

The new development is designed 

to be more in tune with local needs 

– that is, not focused on outlets – 

and will include shops, restaurants, 

cafes, a community theater, a library 

and a community hall. 

Australian DFO 

portfolio for sale 

Direct Factory Outlets has put its 

portfolio of eight DFO outlet centers 

and three conventional schemes on 

the selling block. The Australian 

The Outlet at bridgewater Park had a set-back recently when approval for a Tesco 

was denied. 

The Outlet regroups, 

names new manager 

The Outlet at Bridgewater Park 

in Banbridge, N. Ireland, has new 

management. Glenrye Properties 

Services, which runs Ireland’s largest 

mall, the 80,000-m 2 Dundrum Shopping 

Centre outside Dublin, took over management 

of The Outlet on Jan. 1. 

Land Securities, which previously 

managed The Outlet, is still involved in 

the overall project. When first conceived, 

Bridgewater Park was to be a 1.2 

million-sf complex, with phase 1 being 

the 19,000-m 2 outlet center. 

Phase 2 was envisioned with another 

40,000 m 2 of retail, which apparently 

already had approvals, a drive-through 

restaurant, hotel, petrol station, additional 

parking and a 52,336-m 2 business 

park. 

However, in late 2009, approval to 

build a 12,000-m 2 Tesco was denied 

on the grounds that Bridgewater Park 

would turn Banbridge’s town center into 

a ghost town. The turn-down was a big 

blow for Bridgewater developer GML 

Estates, a joint venture of Orana Group 

and Land Securities. 

In early February, GML confirmed that 

it is seeking a judicial review of the decision 

with the High Court in Belfast. c 

company, founded in 1996 by David 

Goldberger and David Weiland, is 

looking for a buyer or investor. The 

centers are actually warehouses with 

subdivided spaces for retailers. 

According to a report in the 

Australian Financial Review, Jones 

Lang LaSalle is marketing the portfolio, 

which brings in €986 million in 

annual revenue. 

DFO will either sell the centers 

outright or sell the centers and 

retain management. Weiland and 

Goldberger, who own houses next 

door to each other in the upmarket 

suburb of Toorak, were jointly listed 

on last year’s BRW Rich 200 with a 

fortune of €468 million. 

The pair is best known for founding 

the discount petrol chain Solo in 1974, 

before selling it 15 years later for a 

reported €131 million. They now own 

the petrol wholesaler Liberty Oil. 

DFO centers are in Melbourne, 

Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and 

Cairns, and are planned for Hobart, 

Townsville and Perth as well as outside 

of Australia. 

Rathdowney sees 

losses for 2009 

AWG PROPERTY SAYS that its 

Rathdowney Designer Outlet in Laois, 

Ireland, lost €5.4 million in 2009, of 

which €4.6 million was a depreciation 

of the asset. 

However, the nine-year-old center 

achieved a net operating profit of 

€127,685 for the year. 

AWG points to tenant concessions 

on rent at the 100,000-sf center as 

one of the culprits for the loss. The 

developer added in a statement that 

the recent difficult economy in Ireland 

had made “attracting and retaining 

quality tenants very challenging.” 

The opening of Value Retail’s 

upscale Kildare Village in 2006 probably 

hasn’t helped Rathdowney’s sales 

and footfall, either. The 125,000-sf 

Kildare Village is one hour northeast 

of Rathdowney, and less than an hour 

from Dublin’s city center.

Prada opens in 

McArthurGlen’s 

Roermond FOC 

ICONIC luXuRY brand Prada opened 

at McArthurGlen’s Designer Outlet 

Roermond, on Feb. 12. Prada has two 

other outlet stores at McArthurGlen 

centers, at Serravalle Designer Outlet 

near Milan and at Barberino Designer 

Outlet near Florence. The Roermond 

store is the brand’s first outlet store 

in a European Union country other 

than Italy. 

Prada joins such luxury brands 

at Roermond as Armani, Burberry, 

Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, Gucci, Hugo 

Boss, Loro Piana, Polo Ralph Lauren, 

Salvatore Ferragamo and Zegna. 

Designer Outlet Roermond, near 

Düsseldorf, is in the Netherlands but 

many of the center’s 3.5 million annual 

shoppers live in Germany. 

McArthurGlen plans to open a 7,000m 

2 expansion of the 28,000-m 2 center 

in 2011. DOR is co-owned by 

McArthurGlen and Henderson Global 

Investors’ European Outlet Mall Fund. 

However, Henderson isn’t involved in 

the expansion. 

DOR is one of Europe’s top-performing 

outlet centers, according to 

a ranking compiled by commercial 

real estate consultant CBRE and 

German-based research organization 

Ecostra. The ranking is based 

on responses from brands surveyed 

about their turnover performance at 

60 outlet centers. 

New tenants 

take space 

at Alpenrhein 

AlPENRhEIN VIllAGE in Landquart, 

Switzerland signed up several new 

tenants this winter. Italian jeans brand 

Diesel will open in the fourth-largest 

retail space at the 226,020-sf center 

in April. The 3,350-sf unit is oppo- 

Italian luxury brand Prada chose McArthurGlen/Henderson Global Outlet Fund’s 

Designer Outlet Roermond for one of its few outlets outside Italy. 

site Sarar at the center’s northern 

entrance. Other new tenant signings 

in February include Victorinox, 

Lavazza and Envy Sports. 

Alpenrhein Village, which opened 

in October 2009, is owned by ING 

Real Estate and is managed by GVA 

Grimley Outlet Services. 

Gap opens at 

Junction One 

AMERICAN bRAND Gap opened Jan. 

20 at Junction One International 

Outlet Shopping Centre in Antrim, 

N. Ireland. Already trading in more 

than 180 full-price and outlet locations 

in the U.K., Ireland and France, 

the 6,000-sf unit is Gap’s second 

outlet store on the island of Ireland. 

Other tenants in the 245,000-sf center 

include Marks & Spencer, Clarks, 

Next, Nike and Adidas, as well as 

designer brands Austin Reed, Mexx 

and Moss. 

Since opening in May 2004, 

Junction One has attracted more 

than 15 million visitors, drawn by the 

scheme’s 3,000 parking spaces, 70 

stores and 10 cafes. 

Junction One is owned by CUSP, 

the Kennedy Group and Dunalastair 

(Ireland) Ltd. c 

Gap Outlet recently joined Mexx, Tom Tailor, Nike, Adidas and more than 65 other outlet 

shops at Junction One International Outlet Shopping Centre in Antrim, N. Ireland. 


OUTlET TRaDE gROUPS 

ORDA’s big question: 

Can we share data? 

by brendon O’Reilly, 

President, ORDa 

Outlet Retailers and 

Developers association 

Sales density? How far do 

consumers travel for a discount? 

Cap rate? Service charge? Product 

supply? Best brand penetration? Is this a 

good outlet site? Is cannibalization really 

a problem? 

I’ve been 

involved in the 

outlet industry for 

the last 17 years, 

and have been a 

developer, a tenant 

and a consultant 

O’Reilly 

to more than 50 

centers. There are 

often many questions, but regardless of 

whether you’re a tenant, a developer or 

an investor, the issues aren’t that different. 

However, as the sector grows, some 

questions become harder to answer. 

The buzz word or buzz phrase of the 

Italian trade 

group to submit 

IOJ column 

ThE FACTORY OuTlETS’ Advisory 

Committee of the Italian National 

Council of Shopping Centers will 

launch its industry-update column 

in the Summer 2010 IOJ. The 

Italian outlet-industry trade group 

was introduced by Filippo Maffioli in 

October 2009 at the ICSC European 

Factory Outlet Conference in Milan. 

The new column will help the 

global outlet community keep track 

of the Italian FOC industry by providing 

information about local market 

trends, the committee’s goals 

and activities and its links with the 

analogous associations and trade 

groups around the world. 


last year has been due diligence. Funding 

partners at any level need validated 

numbers and facts to be able to provide 

financing for inventory, development 

and investments. 

The lack of information within the 

sector is preventing new entrants and 

slowing down the growth of future 

developments and brands. To truly understand 

the wide and diverse nature of 

the benefits of an outlet strategy and the 

significant profit and investment return 

that can be achieved, we need to find 

ways to demonstrate it. 

There are lots of big questions that 

must be addressed, but where can we 

find answers? 

There is no one-stop shop for outlet 

industry information, research or figures. 

In the U.S., though, ICSC was able to 

conduct an outlet-center sales index for 

five years in the 1990s and an outletchain 

sales index for several years, 

ending in 2006. In January, through the 

efforts of the U.S. trade group DOCR, 

an Outlet Research Subcommittee was 

created. This subcommittee will greatly 

benefit the U.S. outlet sector. 

Though the surveys on outlet-center 

performance conducted by CBRE and 

Ecostra are finding more participants 

each year, there is still plenty of room 

for improvement. 

So, why the paucity of information in 

Europe? 

The answer is simple. In the past developers 

didn’t want to show their cards, 

and brands didn’t want to talk about 

their sales and lease deals. We think 

those attitudes may be shifting. 

Outlet Retailers and Developers Association 

was established by a group of 

brands, developers and consultants for 

one main purpose: to provide a platform 

for sharing information that will help us 

all – both new and existing entrants – 

make better decisions. 

Due diligence has caused developers 

and brands to rethink their information 

strategy and to look at ways of sharing 

more data in return for having access to 

facts and figures that can help their business 

develop and grow. 

The ORDA web site was launched at 

the ICSC/IOJ European Outlet Conference 

in October in Milan and the hits 

have been growing week by week. Later 

this year we will launch the first newsletter 

for members. 

Please take some time to look at 

the site – www.orda-outlets.com – and 

register for future info, or contact me at 

brendon.o’reilly@gvagrimley.co.uk. c 

Brendon O’Reilly is the director of GVA 

Grimley Outlet Services. 

Save This Date! 

October 13-14, Milan 

2010 ICSC EuropEan 

FaCtory outlEt ConFErEnCE 

Why brands love Outlets 

l Presentations by top brands 

l Case Studies 

l research

SAMPlE AD 

ACTuAl SIZE 

120 pixels by 90 pixels

WiTH THiS iN MiND 

bring brands alive through 

strategic digital marketing 

by Deborah Owen-Ellis Clark 

AS A STRATEGIC marketer, I 

find that keeping up with digital 

progress is a challenge, albeit a 

stimulating one. Invariably a number of 

questions spring to my mind: 

How do virtual conversations affect 

physical conversations? 

How do we effectively 

use digital technology? 

How do we measure it? 

How do we manage it? 

Or do we even need 

to measure, use and 

manage it? 

These questions still 

remain largely unknown 

because of a lack of 

robust data. 

The world has grown 

smaller with the dawn of 

the internet, yet it also 

seems more disparate when it comes to 

technology. For example, while entire 

nations are waiting to see the newest mobile 

device or e-reader, a village in India 

is marking 25 years without electricity 

(The national grid was laid, but the village 

has no finances to pay for service). 

Nevertheless, a lack of electricity is 

not hampering progress. The advent of 

mobile technology is enabling people 

to connect globally and many emerging 

economies are leapfrogging various 

Owen-Ellis Clark 

22 INteRNatIONaL OutLet JOuRNaL WiNTER 2010 

stages on the path to technological 

enlightenment. There are no landlines 

or computers for them – PDAs are the 

device of choice because they function 

as computers, with mobility and access 

to the virtual world. 

In marketing there has been a 

paradigm shift in how we communicate 

with our customers from 

“push” to “pull” marketing. 

Incredibly, in the 

space of a few of years 

there has been a shift in 

locus of control – now 

consumers are in charge. 

Customers are choosing 

whether or not to engage 

with a brand. Via the 

internet they freely voice 

opinions, giving both endorsements 

and critiques. 

This viral communication 

is speedy and it’s global. 

This progress is exciting, daunting and 

dynamic. We need to embrace digital 

technology. We ignore it at our peril. As 

marketers and business development 

experts, we have a duty to our retailers, investors 

and our customers, to keep abreast 

of the latest mode of conversation. Thus, 

we must integrate digital and virtual activity 

into our marketing strategies. 

As always, a balanced approach is 

essential. Yes, we need to keep the 

traditional media, too. But we can also 

enliven our brands by initiating internet 

dialogue for special offers and product 

endorsements. I know this works. An 

initiative for an outlet center in the UK 

on Facebook recently generated a 10-fold 

response above other similar initiatives. 

But that is just anecdotal evidence. 

One challenge we face is the ability to 

measure the effectiveness of our strategies 

and campaigns. I suggest that we 

all start by being willing to experiment, 

explore, ask questions, record results 

and share each other’s findings. 

We in the outlet sector are perfectly 

poised to become leaders – leaders who 

use digital marketing in the most effective 

and integrated way. c 

Contact Deborah Owen-Ellis Clark at 

Deborah@thebeegroup.co.uk . 

Deborah Owen-Ellis Clark, M.A., 

M.C.I.M., F.R.S.A., is the director of 

Bee Group Strategic Marketing and 

Business Development Consultancy. 

Her previous experience includes 

stints as marketing director for Land 

Securities’ Gunwharf Quays and UK 

franchise manager for Levi Strauss 

UK Ltd. 

2010 IOJ Calendar 

ICSC european Conference 

April 28-29, Clarion Congress 

Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic 

ICSC ReCon 

May 23-25, Las Vegas 

VRN Fall Outlet Deal Making 

September 27-28, Secaucus, 

N.J. 

ICSC european Factory Outlet 

Conference 

October 13-14, Milan

Vigorous sales spur more outlet growth - Value Retail News

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