CHIC Outlet Shopping, a collection of nine villages across Europe developed and operated by Value Retail, has announced impressive growth figures from the Middle East region for Q3.
In terms of growth of tax-free members, on an average throughout the Villages, Kuwait showed a 54 per cent growth, Saudi Arabia was 30 per cent and the UAE was 42 per cent for Q3 2013, as compared to 2012.
Desirée Bollier, chief executive of Value Retail Management, says: “There is definitely a love affair between the Middle Eastern customers and our Chic Outlet Shopping villages in Europe.
“Middle Eastern customers are used to superb customer service in their own countries. They don’t want to just shop, but be absolutely spoiled. I was in Dubai Mall recently and was very impressed. We try to match that kind of service so we have this customer in my mind in all the deals that we sign – be it for our chauffeur services or bag-holders who assist out guests during their shopping trips. The desire of the Middle Eastern customer and our services align beautifully.”
The company, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, has had a strong visibility in the Middle East market with sales office and partnerships with tour operators. Recently, it signed a partnership with Etihad Airlines offering tailor-made packages for the airline’s gold members.
Bollier says: “The Etihad partnership has been received very well. The partnership began around two years ago. Depending on the profile of the customer, we try to articulate a specific shopping offer packaged in an interesting way. It becomes very much like a joint effort between Chic Outlet Shopping villages and the airline members. We first started this service with Miles & More, Europe’s leading frequent flyer programme. They are the ones who believed in us at first and opened their doors. That success was so powerful that it created a buzz in the market. Strong data gave Miles & More the confidence that they are offering the right product for their customers and they became our advocate with many more airlines.”
The company statistics also show the average spend on the Etihad Miles programme to be around €1,000 ($1,343) a visit. Bollier says: “This indicates that we get very high-end customers from that programme. It is a win–win situation for everyone involved – the customer, the airline and us.”
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Chic Outlet Shopping … so far welcomed 31 million visitors this year |
She mentioned that they are also in discussions with Emirates and Qatar Airways. Other partnerships that introduced this year include working with credit card companies such as American Express and banks like QNB.
The company has also launched ambitious expansion plans in Asia with two projects in China. The first will be Suzhou Village, scheduled to open in May 2014. Its will be located in historic Suzhou, approximately 80 km west of Shanghai. The second project, Shanghai Village, scheduled to open in 2015 and located in Pudong New District will be strategically placed adjacent to the Shanghai Disney Resort, as part of the Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone.
Bollier says: “China has taken the biggest chunk of our energy. The Suzhou town has recognisable historic heritage in china. An analogy would be Oxford in England. Our choice of location is pretty much the same way we thought about all our locations in Europe – ease of access, strong community heritage and a line-up of brands that is going to be very similar to our European villages. The response we have received from the brands is what has basically pushed us to China. South East Asia is as high a market for us as the Middle East is. We have been able to develop a trust over 10 years so we are very optimistic.”
Chic Outlet Shopping also recently launched a group and events strategy following the success of the villages as locations for the Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) market. Four products are introduced to appeal to the market – groups, special events, meetings and incentives.
Chic Outlet Shopping aims to host around 800 events across the villages in 2014. The villages have already seen 22,000 delegates from 31 countries attend 280 events across the nine locations so far in 2013.
Bollier explains: “Last year 30 million people from around the world visited the Villages and enjoyed the mix of international brands and hospitality services. For business travellers we have seen an increase in the demand for exciting itineraries and things to do while they are attending meetings or conference in other countries. During a period of four days of conferences or meetings, the business or individual traveller can enjoy an afternoon for sightseeing and shopping.”
Ian Stazicker, tourism director for Chic Outlet Shopping, expects high demand for its Mice products from Europe as well as the Middle East. “Good value luxury is an ideal fit for many companies and the villages provide a perfect platform for companies to deliver their event objectives and for corporate, convention and trade show groups to incorporate into their programmes. The Mice strategy in the Middle East is to have small business delegations, which we are very focused on attracting to our villages as part of their leisure time.
“What we also see from the Mideast is people coming for conventions, and trade events in major Mice cities like London, Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, where we have our villages. We want to attract this segment,” he says.
In general, all nine villages this year have so far welcomed more than 31 million visitors. Bollier says: “Our goal is to be welcoming tourism in general – domestic, European or international. That is how we think of our villages – it is a destination.”
Other services include free wi-fi at all the villages and on site tax free service and foreign exchange at the Villages in France now, followed by the rest of the villages by 2014.
The company is now looking at new source markets such as South America and Russia for shopping tourism. They are also seeing growth from the South East Asia including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand which are strong markets as well as Japan and Korea.
To mark the 10th anniversary, Chic Outlet Shopping also announced a number of new shopping packages at the recently concluded World Travel Market (WTM) in London.
By Shilpa Chandran