ICSC European Outlet Conference - Value Retail News

OUTLET LEASING
Osprey London plans
12 more outlet stores
PLEAsEd WITH THE performance
of its first three outlet stores, Osprey
London is looking at a healthy expansion
schedule. The brand, which launched its
outlet format in October 2008, opened
two new stores this spring and has asked
GVA Outlet Services to find 12 more
locations over the next three years.
“We are pioneering a new kind of outlet
experience for the UK,” says Osprey
managing director Graeme Ellisdon.
“We’re combining a great brand and luxury
products at good value with an exceptional
shopping experience and quality customer
service. The investment in a beautiful shop
communicates so much to our customers.”
Osprey London has used its initial
outlet stores as test labs for its leather
handbags and accessories. Now the
brand intends to add gloves, hats, ties
and gift items to its outlet offer. Osprey
London operates a strong promotional
calendar keyed to shopping high points
such as Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s
Day and summer holiday trading. The
brand also has successful programs in
place for targeting V.I.P. shoppers and
for training and incentivizing staff.
The new openings this spring at Clarks
Village and Swindon Designer Outlet
bring the brand’s current outlet portfolio
to five stores, including the original units
at York Designer Outlet, Gunwharf
Quays and Gloucester Quays.
“Outlet is an important element in
the total retail matrix,” Ellisdon says.
20 InternatIOnal Outlet JOurnal SUMMER 2010
Osprey London has quickly grasped the
positive aspect of operating an outlet chain.
“We see our outlet channel supporting
our premium retail offer at our flagship
stores, wholesale accounts and via our
web site, and vice-versa. It is immensely
valuable in helping us drive our total
business forward.”
Outlet center leasing
holds steady in 2010
HIGH sTREET MIGHT be slumping,
but the outlet sector in Europe keeps
on leasing. Here’s a rundown of leases
signed in the last few weeks.
l Nearly 13,000 sf of new retail space has
opened since December at McArthur-
Glen’s East Midlands Designer Outlet
in Derbyshire, England: Nike (6,079
sf); Portmeirion (1,020 sf); Aquascutum
(1,595 sf); Savoy Taylors Guild (2,056 sf);
and Melka (1,919 sf). Nike is now in all
seven McArthurGlen centers across the
Crowds were so massive at Adidas’s opening in April at Designer Outlets Wolfsburg
that officials had to temporarily close the store.
UK. East Midlands Designer Outlet has
more than 70 brands in 160,900 sf.
l GVA Outlets has signed more than a
dozen tenants at centers it operates. G-
Star Raw and Diesel at Premier Outlet
Centre Ringsted (Denmark); Diesel at
Alpenrhein Village Outlet Shopping
in Switzerland; Tommy Hilfiger, Le
Creuset and Tom Tailor at Fashion
Arena Prague in the Czech Republic;
and at Belgrade Outlet Centre, scheduled
to open in 2011, newly signed brands
include Bata, Benetton, Camper,
Cesare Paciotti, Ecco Shoes, Energie,
Extreme Intimo, Killah, Miss Sixty,
Piquadro, Replay, Scotch & Soda,
Timberland and Tommy Hilfiger.
l Guess has joined the tenant roster
at Batavia Stad Fashion Outlet in
Lelystad, The Netherlands. The
277,446-sf center was developed by
Stable International.
l Puma has opened a 98-m 2 unit on the
ground floor of the Forum Shopping
Center in Gliwice, Poland. The Forum
houses 140 shops, a Carrefour hypermarket
and a 13-screen Cinema City.
l Città Sant’Angelo Village, which
opened in September 2009, has several
new tenants, including Pollini, Meltin’
Pot, Asics and Gutteridge. Promos is
handling leasing for the project, which
was developed by EuropInvest and
owned by Città Sant’ Angelo S.p.A.
l Marina Militare Kids and Deborah
Milano opened recently at Mondovicino
Factory Outlet in Turin, bringing
the occupancy of the two-year-old
center to 95 percent.
l Land Securities has a number of
new lets for its outlet centers in England.
Joining Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth
are Wagamama (3,058 sf), Fire
and Stone (4,815 sf), Yo! Sushi (2,097 sf)
and Quba Sails (786 sf), which signed a
five-year lease. At The Galleria in Hatfield,
Choice at Home (3365 sf), signed
a 10-year lease. Twentyretail and Head
Retail handle leasing for Land Securities.
l New openings during 2010 at Dalton
Park include Designer Kidz, Cargo
and Leaf, Bark and Berry. ING is the
developer of the seven-year-old center,
which is in Murton, England.
l The Streat has opened its largest café
in Ireland – 2,178 sf – at The Outlet at
Bridgewater Park in Banbridge, N.
Ireland. GML Estates is the developer
of the three-year-old outlet center. c