During the 26th December to 2nd January shopping period the McArthurGlen Group – Europe’s largest designer outlet group, opening the first designer outlet in 1995 – reported record trading in its 15 year history, as total sales soared 18% Y-O-Y with like-for-like sales increasing 20% over the same period’ and footfall increased 6% Y-O-Y across all seven UK designer outlets.
The designer outlet group, with around 700 stores in 1.7 million square foot of retail space in the UK welcoming nearly 30 million shoppers a year, attributed this increase to the rise in consumers receiving Christmas cash gifts and vouchers as a result of the pre-Christmas transport disruptions, which meant that families had to look for alternative gift ideas.
Additionally, booming sales were a result of shoppers across the UK adopting a ‘bargain hungry’ mentality ahead of the looming VAT rise and the big promotions across the high street.
Henrik Madsen Managing Director of UK and Northern Europe at McArthurGlen said, “While the snow made pre-Christmas shopping difficult for some, our UK designer outlets reported a post Christmas rush, with sales reaching an all time high on Tuesday 28th December at 10% ahead of the previous record day.
"Boxing Day was also strong despite it falling on a Sunday, with all outlets reporting a total sales increase of 9% compared to 2009. We work hand in hand with our designer brands to create a really impressive mix of products, which attract those savvy shoppers, looking for designer bargains, particularly during this crucial ‘Twixmas’ period. ”
Designer accessory and beauty brands reported a sales growth in excess of 50% yesr-on-year.
In 2010 the McArthurGlen Group announced plans to open more than 100,000 sq m of new retail space as demand for outlet retailing grows. The roll out will start with the opening of the McArthurGlen Athens Designer Outlet in 2011, followed by the launch in 2012 of a Designer Outlet in Neumünster, near Hamburg, Germany’s second largest city.
Currently the McArthurGlen Group operates more than 500,000 sq m of retail space across Europe, with designer outlet centres in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. Included in the portfolio is Europe’s largest designer outlet village, Serravalle Designer Outlet near Milan, with 180 stores and 37,400 sq m of gross leasable area.
SOURCE: The Retail Bulletin
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