McArthurGlen Group, Europe’s leading owner, manager and developer of designer outlets, is currently in development or planning to open nearly 200,000 sq m of new retail space.
This includes the opening of the Group’s 21st Designer Outlet, McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Neumünster, north of Hamburg. This newest centre will open in September 2012 with an initial phase of 20,000 sq m of gross leasable area, and offering the most sought-after brands in luxury, designer, premium and high street fashion, with year-round savings of 30-70 per cent.
McArthurGlen Group is the pioneer of designer outlets in Europe, opening the continents first in 1995 – Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, near Chester, which is still the UK’s largest designer outlet. With nearly 600,000 sq m of open and trading retail space in eight countries, the Group operates more designer outlet retailing space than any other operator.
Gary Bond, McArthurGlen Group’s managing director, development, says: “We still see considerable opportunities for expansion of McArthurGlen’s Designer Outlets, especially in Western Europe. We are seeing strong demand not only from the 147 million consumers who live within our catchments but also from the rising numbers of international travellers visiting our centres. At the same time, brands are increasingly seeing their outlet stores as offering their consumers a wider choice of shopping experience while protecting their brand identity.”
The opening of McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Neumünster, just off the main motorway between Scandinavia and southern Germany, follows the opening of five new McArthurGlen Designer Outlets in the last three and a half years: Veneto Designer Outlet (2008), Designer Outlet Berlin (2009), Designer Outlet Salzburg (2009), La Reggia Designer Outlet (2010) and McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Athens (2011).
As well as McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Neumünster, four additional new McArthurGlen Designer Outlets are in planning, and due to open by the end of 2015 in the following locations: Vancouver (Canada), Vernon (north-west of Paris, France), Provence (south of France) and Ghent (Belgium).
In addition, the Group is in development or in planning with extensions at four existing centres; Barberino Designer Outlet (near Florence), Castel Romano Designer Outlet (Rome), La Reggia Designer Outlet (Naples) and Designer Outlet Roermond (located in the Netherlands, but with the nearest big city being Düsseldorf).