• Corporate
• Press
• McArthurGlen strengthens market leadership position with a record 50% growth in retail space by 2019

• McArthurGlen’s global retail space to grow to nearly 900,000 sq m by 2019
• Ambitious expansion plan underpinned by 30% growth in total centre turnover from 2012–2014
• 8 new centres and 8 expansions will grow total catchment by one third
• 50 new brands opened in 2015 including Coach, Cesare Paciotti, J. Crew, Kiton and Thomas Sabo

LONDON, 18 November 2015-- Europe’s leading owner, developer and manager of designer outlets, McArthurGlen, today reveals that it will expand its gross leasable area (GLA) by a record 50%, growing from 600,000 sq m today to almost 900,000 sq m by 2019. This news makes McArthurGlen, now in its 20^th year, the fastest-growing group in the European outlet sector.  

Including the Ochtrup designer outlet joint venture announced yesterday, McArthurGlen’s portfolio of centres will rise to 22, assuring the group’s position as Europe’s clear leader in outlet retailing. The company currently has a further seven new centres underway or in planning and due for completion by 2019.

Underpinning McArthurGlen’s ambitious expansion plan is its strong financial performance.  The group today announced that across its portfolio total centre turnover grew by almost 30% in the last 3 years to around 3.5 billion euros. Since the beginning of this year, McArthurGlen has driven double-digit growth in both footfall and customer spend across its centres and has grown tourism sales by over 40%.

Gary Bond, Managing Director of Development, McArthurGlen Designer Outlets, comments: “This is a hugely exciting time for the designer outlet sector and we are looking to break new records and strengthen our position as the leader of the industry in Europe. 

“We are well positioned to capitalise on the quickly evolving designer outlet market and are focused on enhancing and expanding our existing estate as well as looking for new acquisitions and new joint ventures in locations which will allow us to capitalise on new opportunities. Our current development pipeline will increase GLA by almost 300,000 sq m and our catchment by a third within the next four years.”

Eight new expansions and eight new centres

Eight of McArthurGlen’s existing centres are expanding, delivering anadditional 85,000 sq m of GLA worldwide. These include Ashford (UK), La Reggia (Naples) Noventa di Piave (Venice) and Serravalle (Milan), Parndorf (Austria), Roermond (The Netherlands), Vancouver (Canada) and recently extended Neumunster (Hamburg) .

In addition to the company’s new acquisition in Ochtrup, near Münster, a further seven new centres are currently underway or in planning: Ghent, Málaga, Normandie, Provence, Remscheid and two centres in Istanbul, which will add over 215,000 sq m of GLA to Western Europe.

This brings the total GLA to be created by new developments and extensions to almost 300,000 sq m.

Catchment to grow by a third

By 2019 McArthurGlen’s total catchment will grow by a third. Strategically located to deliver maximum value and footfall to brand partners, McArthurGlen outlets have a combined catchment of over 144 million potential customers living within a 90-minute drive time. In the UK, the catchment of its six centres is equivalent to almost 60% of the UK population. A third of the German population live within a 90 minute drive of a McArthurGlen centre, with the new development in Remscheid, near Cologne and the addition of the Ochtrup centre and its catchment of 13 million inhabitants, this is set to grow to just over 40%.

50 new brands

McArthurGlen has a network of over 900 brand partners representing the world’s most famous names in luxury, designer and premium fashion, including Armani, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Missoni, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino and Versace. The company secures over 600 leasing deals a year to maintain the group’s portfolio and this year alone have welcomed 50 new brands to help to invigorate the brand mix including Coach, Cesare Paciotti, Frey Wille, J. Crew, Kiton, Ports 1961 and Thomas Sabo.

Adrian Nelson, Group Leasing and CRM Director, McArthurGlen Designer Outlets, comments:

“McArthurGlen provides the finest designer outlet experience in Europe and we continuously look to enhance the quality of the customer experience and drive the performance of our brand partners by creating an exciting and engaging shopping experience that appeals to both local communities and the wider tourist shopper. With over 900 brand partners across nine countries, we have an excellent track record of driving strong and consistent growth for our brand partners, delivering a tailored brand mix for each market.”

He continues: “The quality and design of our centres, including store interiors, visual merchandising and customer service creates an atmosphere conducive to buying luxury and premium brands. Our shoppers are attracted by the significant price discount at our centres but they return regularly because of the quality of the entire shopping experience.”

Tourism sales quadruple

McArthurGlen’s Designer Outlets have seen tourism sales quadruple over the last four years between 2010 and 2014. Across the portfolio, the average spend per international customer is more than six times the average spend of local customers, with China as the biggest international customer, accounting for more than a third of all tax-free sales. In 2015 tax free sales figures have grown around 25% year-on-year to date.

Expansion of existing centres:                                                                   

Name	City	GLA   (Sq M)	Phase	Opening	Additional Info
Ashford	London	7,400	2	2018	One of the UK’s flagship fashion and homeware destinations, the centre is 37 minutes from London via high speed train and it attracts over 3 million visitors a year.
La Reggia	Naples	7,500	3	Autumn 2017	Naples and the surrounding region are world-renowned tourist destinations, generating over 4.5 million visitors every year.
		4,500	4	TBC
Parndorf	Vienna	5,000	5	September 2017	Situated near Vienna, Parndorf is the largest designer outlet in central Europe, boasting premium and luxury brands drawing tourists from Eastern Europe and beyond.
Roermond	Düsseldorf	11,500	4a	March 2017	The centre is situated in one of Europe’s largest catchments and attracts shoppers from both the Netherlands and Germany, as well as international tourists. Located in the heart of the southern Dutch province of Limburg, the Designer Outlet is a 3 minute walk from Roermond’s historic city centre.
		4,000	4b	TBC
Noventa di Piave	Venice	6,000	4a	Spring 2017	One of Europe’s most popular outlets, its location (40km from Venice) helps make it a destination for international shoppers. It won the award for the category of ‘established centres’ in the European Shopping Centre Award in earlier this year
		7,000	4b	2018
Serravalle	Milan	12,260	5 & 6	November 2016	Italy's first and largest designer outlet. The centre is also renowned for being a fashion destination with premium and luxury brands, attracting the highest rate of tourist sales in the group.
Neumunster	Hamburg	6,900	2	September 2015	The largest designer outlet in Northern Germany; the centre caters for a wealth of visitors from its local catchment and abroad. It won the award for the category of ‘new developments: speciality’ in the ICSC European Shopping Centre Awards earlier this year
Vancouver Airport	Vancouver	12,500	2	Autumn 2017	The latest designer outlet to be built by McArthurGlen, McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Vancouver Airport welcomed over 1 million customers in the first 8 weeks of opening.

Total area for extensions: 84,560

 

New centres in development or acquired:

Name	City	GLA        (Sq M)	Opening	Additional info
Provence	Marseille	25,000	2017	McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Provence will be the first and only designer outlet in the South of France and with 30 million tourist visits to the region annually, the project presents a distinctive commercial opportunity for luxury and premium brands.
Normandie	Paris	19,000	2019	The first and only luxury designer outlet to serve western Paris, home to many of France’s more affluent residents, the centre will include a Maison des Métiers d’Art, showcasing French savoir-faire in crafts and artisanship
Ghent	Brussels/ Bruges	31,000	2019	Located in The Loop, a multi-purpose development on the edge of Ghent, the centre will serve a densely populated and affluent area of Belgium which annually attracts over three million tourists.
Málaga	Málaga	30,000	2017	McArthurGlen’s first centre in Spain developed with Sonae Sierra. The centre will benefit from a large touristic and affluent catchment, benefitting from 10 million annual tourists and 2.8 million residents within a 90 minute drive from the centre.
Remscheid	Cologne/ Düsseldorf	26,600	2017	The Designer Outlet will cater to one of Germany’s wealthiest and most densely populated regions as well as drawing from the tourism flows of international visitors to nearby cities.
Istanbul – Göktürk (Europe)	Istanbul	35,000 (1st phase 20,000)	2017	The two new Designer Outlets planned in Istanbul are 75 minutes' driving distance apart, with each one serving its own area with a catchment of 15 million inhabitants within the city. Both centres will benefit from the opening in 2016 of the new North Marmara Highway running across the new third bridge over the Bosphorus.
Istanbul – Çekmeköy (Asia)	Istanbul	30,000 (1st phase 20,000)	2018
Ochtrup	Münster	18,000	2015	The Ochtrup outlet is a 30-minute drive from Münster, the cultural centre of the Westphalia region, located in a densely populated region with approximately 13 million inhabitants within a 90-minute catchment.

Total area for new developments: 214,600

Total GLA to be created by new developments and extensions: 299,160 sq m