ICSC European Outlet Conference - Value Retail News

FOC PERFORMANCE REPORT
(Continued from page 4)
kets, he says, and the centers in
Germany and Ireland have now
hit their stride and are moving up
quickly in performance.
In fact, Kildare Village in Ireland
recorded its highest number
of visitors with more than
50,000 shoppers during Easter
week. Both sales and footfall
were up 21 percent for the twoweek
Easter period. Even with
the atmospheric challenges, Kildare
Village posted comp-store
sales increases of 14 percent
for both February and March.
New tenants including DKNY,
Lacoste, 7 for all Mankind,
Superdry and Juicy Couture are
said to be key to Kildare Village’s
positive numbers. And perhaps
a personal appearance at the center by
Elizabeth Hurley, who was there to
promote her pop-up Elizabeth Hurley
Beachwear Boutiques, was a nice sales
boost, too.
In addition to the lure of brands and
beautiful people, attention to detail
drives the bottom line at Value Retail.
“We have kept our heads down and have
remained focused on driving the fundamentals
of our business and improving
the trade performances of all of our
villages,” Blanchette says.
■ ■ ■
Land Securities’ Galleria in Hatfield,
England saw a 16.3 percent increase in
sales for the May Bank Holiday, which
was the first week in May.
The 320,000-sf center also posted a
7.7 percent increase in footfall for the
week, compared to last year, with Saturday
footfall up 17.5 percent and Sunday
up 44.2 percent.
The rise in footfall was the result of
a fashion show organized by designer
brand Ghost. Many of the center’s leading
brands, including GAP and French
Connection, were also featured in the
fashion show.
■ ■ ■
Outlet Centres International says
Designer Outlets Wolfsburg posted a positive
2009, with sales turnover increasing
by 27 percent and footfall by 5 percent
compared to 2008. Though the increase
in footfall isn’t double-digit, the 215,500sf
center had nearly 1.4 million visitors in
only its second year of operation.
6 InternatIOnal Outlet JOurnal SUMMER 2010
A fashion show at Land Securities’ Galleria in Hatfield, England may have been key to the
12-year-old outlet mall’s recent surge in sales.
Regina Leitner, operations director of
OCI, which developed and manages the
center, says credit for the good performance
goes to the brands, including
such new tenants as Tommy Hilfiger,
Marc O´Polo, Bogner, Polo Ralph Lauren
and Ed Hardy, which just opened its
first outlet store in Germany.
“We reached 1.4 million visitors just
two years after the opening,” Leitner
says. “Comparable outlet centers manage
to reach these numbers only after
the fourth or fifth year. Especially significant
is the increase in visitors from a
catchment area of more than 100 km.”
Thanks to a new regional-marketing
campaign, almost 45 percent of Wolfsburg’s
visitors drove more than 50 km
to get to the center, and 20 percent
came from more than 100 km. Twentytwo
percent of the center’s visitors are
from Wolfsburg, Leitner says.
Stephan Schaefer, managing director
of OCI, says the center is 98 percent
occupied and an expansion is in the
planning and pre-leasing stages. “We
want to start construction this year and
open next summer,” Schaefer says.
■ ■ ■
Extreme weather in Holland might
have affected the number of visitors to
Batavia Stad Fashion Outlet in Lelystad,
but the 277,446-sf center’s total sales
for Q1 2010 grew by 30 percent, and
comp-store sales grew by 13 percent.
“Our current research is confirming
the results,” says Willem Veldhuizen,
director of Stable International, the
developer of Batavia Stad. “The consumers
are visiting us more frequently,
staying longer and buying more.”
In 2009 the center attracted 2.1 million
visitors. The turnover increased
by 27 percent compared to 2008. And
like-for-like sales increased by 9 percent
with expenditure per visitor growing by
17 percent.
■ ■ ■
Dalton Park ended 2009 with total
sales up 8.5 percent compared to 2008,
and comp-store sales up 8 percent
for the year. Spend per head was up 4
percent and visitor levels also increased
4 percent, going to 2.3 million visitors in
2009 compared to 2.2 million in 2008.
Total sales between January and April
at ING Real Estate’s 160,000-sf center
in Murton, England, increased 1.7 percent.
Spend for the period is up 3.4 percent.
For the Easter weekend, total sales
were up 6.2 percent compared to 2008
and comp sales were up 2.1 percent.
■ ■ ■
For 2009, total sales at 263,700-sf
Mondovicino Outlet Village near Turin,
Italy, hit €44.5 million. Footfall during
2009 at Filea Spa’s two-year-old center
was 1.98 million. The center’s occupancy
is now more than 95 percent. c
To have your centers’ sales and
footfall results included in IOJ’s
FOC Performance Report, send
your results to Editor in Chief Linda
Humphers at lhumphers@icsc.org.