Tourists help McArthurGlen succeed in July

By Neil Craven - This is money

Designer brand shopping centre group McArthurGlen has reported a sales boost this summer, as a result of higher spending by shoppers and tourists. 

July sales jumped 6.5 per cent compared with last year while many High Street rivals struggled.

A spokesman for the company, which has outlets at seven British sites, including Swindon and York, said the increase had partly come from a 150 per cent rise in the number of Chinese, Kuwaiti and Malaysian visitors, many of whom come specifically for the centres.

Each of the outlet centres has up to 140 stores, including Marks & Spencer, Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Jaeger and Kurt Geiger advertising up to 60 per cent off. The company also operates centres on the Continent.
Sales of the most premium designer labels recorded the strongest rises – some were up by more than 50 per cent – though cosmetics and accessories also proved popular. 

Meanwhile, the average amount spent by each British visitor increased as they bought fewer but more expensive ‘investment pieces’, such as Mulberry bags.

‘People are changing their spending patterns,’ said Colin Wilding, manager for Britain.

RELATED POSTS:

• Great Outdoors at McArtherGlen York Designer Outlet
• Bath Ladies Day sponsored by Swindon Designer Outlet
• Kildare Village outlet courts tourists.

New shuttle bus from Orlando Premium Outlets to Legoland

by Orlando Business Journal

Legoland Florida, Orlando Premium Outlets    Orlando Premium Outlets Latest from The Business Journals Simon Property to expand Orlando Premium OutletsRoad to Legoland spans Tampa, Orlando and LakelandSimon CEO gets million-share bonus Follow this company and Annett Bus Lines are teaming up to offer Orlando-area travelers wanting to visit the new Lego-inspired theme park once it opens Oct. 15 an alternative travel method: a shuttle bus.

The bus will depart daily from Orlando Premium Outlets at 9 a.m., returning after park closure. Introductory ticket prices are $5 per person and must be pre-booked on the www.legoland.com website.

The new 150-acre theme park being built at the former Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven will offer more than 50 rides including roller coasters and race cars.

Legoland Florida is the fifth Legoland in the world and is overseen by international attractions operator Merlin Entertainments Group Ltd.

RELATED POSTS:

• Four Premium Outlets Properties to expand
• Bacchus Bash at Orlando Premium Outlets
• Armed robbery at Orlando Premium Outlets

Team Extreme at McArthur Glen's East Midlands Designer Outlet

Dave Monaghan in action - Photo mandatory by-line: Matt Bunn - 18/08/2011 - Team Extreme visit McArthur Glen in Mansfield

Published on Tuesday 23 August 2011 04:21 -Derbyshire Times

SHOPPERS were stunned by an adrenaline-fuelled display of extreme sports.

The UK’s top in-line skaters, skateboarders and BMX riders descended on McArthurGlen’s East Midlands Designer Outlet as part of the centre’s month-long Urban Life and Style celebration.

Team Extreme performed breath-taking stunts, tricks and manoeuvres in front of shoppers last Thursday.

Marketing manager Donna Goodwin said: “Urban Life and Style is all about celebrating some of our best-loved active brands as well as treating shoppers to something exciting and a little bit different.

“Team Extreme performed four electrifying shows, drawing crowds of shoppers and inspiring them to get involved in active fashion.”

Team Extreme also hosted a series of workshops, giving shoppers an exclusive chance to try out some of the tricks and manoeuvres they had seen.

Skechers Outlet manager charged with felony theft of $43000

By Mike Schoemer - St.MichaelPatch

A 36-year-old employee of the Skechers USA Outlet at the Albertville Premium Outlets is facing charges of felony theft after an investigation revealed he allegedly took thousands of dollars from the store using frequent, fraudulent transactions.

Shawn Michael Gohmann, St. Michael, who turned 36 last week, allegedly used fraudulent returns on cash sales, forging customers’ signatures, to steal anywhere from $40 to $300 per day.

Wright County officers worked with Skechers Corporate Headquarters and a loss prevention team to investigate the employee’s behavior, starting in June of 2011. Charges were filed Aug. 16 in Wright County District Court.

According to the criminal complaint:

Detectives from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office received a report of employee embezzlement at the Skechers Store in Albertville back in June. Detectives worked with Tony Harms, a loss prevention investigator from Skechers’ Corporate Office, who stated they had seen a number of unusual transactions, dating back to 2008.

Reviewing receipts and store reports, a number of shoes were being returned, without a corresponding increase in store inventory.

The investigation revealed one store manager in particular, Gohmann, made an unusually large amount of cash returns. Many of these returns did not have the original receipt attached (as is store policy), and often the customer information did not match the original purchaser.

Harms worked with Wright County to have covert, video surveillance installed at the store. As a result, investigators witnessed Gohmann making the fraudulent returns with no customers in the store, and pocketing the cash.

Harms conducted an interview with Gohmann, who admitted to making the transactions and pocketing as much as $300 per day. Gohmann reviewed reports with Harms and admitted he was responsible for the total loss of $43,833.45, outlined in the reports. He admitted the thefts occurred from October 2008 through June 2011.

Felony theft of items valued more than $35,000 carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail and $100,000 in fines, or both, in Minnesota.

RELATED POSTS:

• Shutdown could delay Albertville Premium Outlets interchange
• The 5-8 Club, Home of the Juicy Lucy
• Albertville Premium Outlets

Coach to open at The Shoppes at Sands

Jeffrey Was, President of The Was Group recently announced the lease signing of Coach for The Shoppes at Sands outlet center.

The Shoppes at Sands in Bethlehem PA is scheduled to grand open in February 2012.

This major Las Vegas Sands owned casino features a 300 room hotel and 3 Emeril Lagasse restaurants on site.

6 million visitors are expected at the casino this year.

For more information on The Shoppes at Sands please contact:

Jeffrey T. Was

President

The Was Group

862-203-4352

RELATED POSTS:

• The Shoppes at Sands get Talbots, Guess and Nine West
• The Shoppes at Sands gets a new Emeril Lagasse Restaurant

Premium Outlets Labor Day Weekend Sale

American Eagle to double its outlet stores

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. is honing in on outlet centers as it tries to improve sales.

While the South Side-based clothing and accessories retailer reported Wednesday that profit doubled in the second quarter, comparable store sales were flat, and the company lowered its full-year profit forecast.

Shares dipped by $1.02 yesterday to $10.60, their lowest price since March 2009.

High cotton prices are hurting the company, which relies heavily on jeans sales, and "the lack of an economic recovery has created a persistently challenging retail environment," CEO Jim O'Donnell said during a conference call with financial analysts.

But O'Donnell pointed to the company's "Off Campus" outlet stores as a bright spot. Sales there are 20 to 30 percent higher on average than at a typical mall store, he said.

"The traffic patterns are incredible," he said, and outlet center rents and maintenance costs are lower than at standard retail malls.

In coming months, 90 percent of new stores are planned as outlets, which resemble and are run like typical American Eagle stores but have a different product mix, he said.

More than 50 outlets are open now, and that could double in the next few years, O'Donnell said, but the company will be careful to avoid putting outlets where they could hurt regular stores,

There are 932 American Eagle men's and women's stores in the United States and Canada, plus 53 aerie women's casual wear and intimates stores and 21 77kids children's clothing stores. In Western Pennsylvania, Tanger Outlet Center in South Strabane and Grove City Premium Outlets have AE off-price stores.

Woman robbed at gunpoint in San Ysidro

by 10NEWS.COM


Police Say Man Wearing Shirt With Security Logo Robbed Woman Near Las Americas Premium Outlets

SAN DIEGO -- A 30-year-old woman was robbed at gunpoint on Saturday outside a San Ysidro shopping center, San Diego police said.

The woman had parked her car near the Las Americas Premium Outlets in the 4000 block of Camino de la Plaza about 11 a.m. when a man approached and pointed a gun at her, according to San Diego police Sgt. Ray Battrick.

The man demanded cash and the victim handed over an envelope containing money, Battrick said. The woman was not injured.

The suspect fled in a black Suburban with tinted windows, last seen headed south on Willow Street, Battrick said.

The suspect was described as a Hispanic male in his 20s who was about 6 feet 2 inches tall. He wore a white shirt with a security logo, black pants and a black or white hat.

Police asked anyone with information about the incident to contact them at (619) 531-2000 or to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 540-8477.

RELATED POSTS:

• Pedicabs at Las Americas Premium Outlets.
• Border Region Seen as Land of Opportunity
• Shamrock Group Aquires Land For Planned Outlets at the Border

Viejas Outlets and Casino to add a Hotel

by Steve Schmidt - SignOn San Diego

The Viejas Indian band, operator of one of the region’s gaming powerhouses, is laying down a bet on the hotel business as well.

Tribal leaders and Viejas Casino executives are set today to formally announce plans for a $36 million, 150-room hotel that could rise as many as seven stories on the reservation east of Alpine.

Tribal Chairman Anthony Pico said the project will help Viejas keep pace with the Indian gaming industry, which views overnight lodgings as a way to lure — and keep — high-rollers and other casino customers.
“It’s a matter of staying competitive and continues to add to our gaming amenities,” he said.

He said a groundbreaking is expected to be held early next year, with completion in early 2013. The project is expected to employ more than 400 construction workers.

It will join several other Indian gaming hotels in the region, including the high-end accommodations at the Barona and Valley View casinos.

David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, called the recent construction of hotels at many Indian gaming sites a business no-brainer.

“It makes sense. It’s smart,” he said. “It lets you have overnight guests that will gamble more than daytripping guests.”

Concept drawings prepared for today’s announcement show a boxy, seven-story structure that would rise where a white bingo tent currently stands, on the east side of the mammoth casino.

Tribal spokesman Robert Scheid emphasized that the exact height and footprint of the 95,000-square-foot hotel are still to be determined.

It will include a pool, fitness room, business center and other amenities. Each room is expected to be more than 400 square feet.

Pico said the hotel is expected to be managed by the tribe, rather than by an outside franchise. Many of the rooms would likely be offered to high-rollers at no charge, a common practice at many casino hotels, he noted.

The project’s $36 million budget will also pay for the expansion of the seating area in the casino buffet. Bingo games will be moved into the casino.

Sawgrass Mills gets Bags To Go program.

by PRWeb

Sawgrass Mills, the largest outlet, value retail and entertainment destination in the United States with more than 350 stores, will now provide customers even “more” with the launch of a premier in-mall bag storage and shipping program. Bags To Go Enterprises, a leader in advance off-airport check-in, baggage storage, and baggage claim and delivery, will provide local and out-of-town shoppers with the options to check their bags to the airport, store their purchases in a secure location to shop hands-free or ship all items to their final destination from Sawgrass Mills.

“This new service is just one example of how Sawgrass Mills continues to provide our loyal customers with great amenities that further enhance the overall shopping experience,” said Luanne Lenberg, VP/General Manager of Sawgrass Mills. “As we continue to add more stores to our already incredible retail mix, we are also committed to ensuring that every customer fully enjoys our unique brand of shopping with a focus on more stores, more brands, more savings and more fun.”

Sawgrass Mills’ shoppers can now drop off their purchases at one of three convenient locations throughout the mall near Bloomingdale’s – The Outlet Store, near Burlington Coat Factory or the Bags To Go holding area near Super Target. Shoppers will then have the ability to either send their bags directly to the airport or have them shipped to anywhere in the United States and to certain destinations around the world. Shipping fees vary based on the final destination.

Belz Factory Outlet Mall sold in a foreclosure auction

by Jeff Farrell - The Mountain Press

SEVIERVILLE — A little more than four years after a bank issued a note for $28 million on portions of the Belz Factory Outlets Mall, the Pigeon Forge property sold for $4.1 million in a foreclosure auction Tuesday on the steps of the courthouse.

That bid came from CB Pigeon Forge Outlet LLC, a Delaware company. Officials from the trustee’s office said the written bid was submitted before the auction.

If any representatives of the company were present, they did not identify themselves to officials from the substitute trustee’s office.

More than a dozen people waited about 50 minutes in the shaded area around the armed forces memorial while a representative of the substitute trustee read the notice of sale on the property, but most appeared to be there to hear the purchase price of the property and find out who bought it. None of the people present offered a bid.

475 Payless and Stride Rite stores to close

Marketwatch - PRESS RELEASE

Aug. 24, 2011, 4:00 p.m. EDT

Collective Brands Reports 2011 Second Quarter Net Sales Increase of 5%

Company to Close 475 Non-Strategic Stores Over Next Three Years; Board to Commence Review of Strategic Alternatives to Enhance Shareholder Value

TOPEKA, KS, Aug 24, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Collective Brands, Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter ended July 30, 2011 and announced plans to close underperforming and low-volume, non-strategic stores. The Company also announced that its Board of Directors will, together with management, conduct a review of strategic and financial alternatives to further enhance shareholder value.

Net sales for the second quarter increased 4.9% to $882.4 million. The second quarter 2011 net loss attributable to Collective Brands, Inc. was $35.0 million or $0.58 per diluted share. Excluding certain impairment and severance charges, adjusted(1) net earnings attributable to Collective Brands were $9.9 million, or $0.16 per diluted share.

In the quarter, the Company recorded impairment and severance charges ("adjustments") that reduced pre-tax income by $83.6 million, of which $76.8 million was non-cash. The impairment charges, all of which are non-cash, consist of $33 million in asset impairments primarily related to the net book value of stores at both Payless and Stride Rite; $31 million in trade name impairments mostly related to Stride Rite; and $10 million in goodwill impairment in Payless Domestic. In addition, the Company recorded a $10 million severance charge of which $3 million is non-cash.

The Company said that as part of its efforts to optimize the performance of its Payless and Stride Rite store fleet, it would close approximately 475 under-performing and low-volume, non-strategic stores in the next three years with more than 300 of those closings coming by the end of this fiscal year. The Company estimated that the costs for lease terminations, severance, and other exit costs related to closing these stores could be in the range of $25 million to $35 million.

"While the second quarter was challenging for the company, we are taking aggressive actions to improve the business," said Michael J. Massey, Chief Executive Officer of Collective Brands, Inc. "In Payless Domestic, we are gaining a much greater understanding of our customers and their needs and expectations. With this clarity, we are taking short term actions to improve our performance, accelerating key initiatives, and adjusting our longer term strategies. At the same time, we will continue to invest for growth and profitability in our Performance + Lifestyle Group and international businesses."

REIT's could face Obama tax hike.

by--Bloomberg news--Investment News
Lobbyists already seeking to deflect tax code change; potential S-corp fallout

Lobbyists for the largest real estate investment trusts in the U.S. are working to shield the industry from paying corporate taxes if President Barack Obama and Congress agree to a tax code rewrite.

The industry, which includes Simon Property Group Inc. and Equity Residential, is guarding against a potential proposal from the Obama administration that would impose new taxes on partnerships and similar companies with more than $50 million in gross receipts that are currently exempt from corporate income tax. The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts has spent $1.1 million this year lobbying Congress on issues that include a tax overhaul, while the Real Estate Roundtable has spent $1.5 million.

REITs, which are companies that own, operate and sometimes finance real estate projects, reported a total equity market capitalization of $461 billion as of July 31, according to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. The administration would be overlooking a significant revenue source that could be used to offset lower corporate rates if it ignores these firms in shifting tax-status rules, said Henrietta Treyz, a vice president at Height Analytics, a Washington research firm.

“If you carve out REITs, how much money is Treasury really raising?” she told Bloomberg Government. “If you carve out this revenue-raising proposal, what are you left with?”

Obama is expected to propose revisions to the U.S. tax code as early as September. Sandra Salstrom, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Treasury Department, declined to comment yesterday on what might be included in the plan, including whether it would affect REITs. 

Paying Individual Rates
One of the main questions about Obama's tax proposal and those being developed in Congress involves the treatment of so-called pass-through companies. These are firms structured as partnerships or S corporations that accounted for almost one-third of all income reported on individual returns in 2009, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington-based nonpartisan research organization. The profits pass through to individual tax returns, allowing owners to avoid paying the corporate income tax, regardless of the firm's size.

Though REITs and pass-through entities don't have to pay most corporate taxes, they are structured in ways that impose different requirements on their owners. 

Tanger and Simon break ground on the newest outlet in south Houston

GREENSBORO, N.C. and INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 23, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc., (NYSE:SKT) and Simon Property Group, Inc., (NYSE:SPG) announced today the partners will host an official Ground Breaking Ceremony for the new Tanger Outlet Center located south of Houston, Texas on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 9:00 am at the site. Steven Tanger, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc., John R. Klein, President of the Simon Premium Outlets platform, Mayor Matthew Doyle, Mayor of Texas City, Texas and Aaron Demerson, Executive Director of Economic Development & Tourism for the Office of the Governor, along with other local and state officials, will be on hand for the ceremony.

Tanger Outlets (Texas City, TX), a 50/50 joint venture between Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. and Simon Property Group, Inc., will be located approximately 30 miles south of Houston and 20 miles north of Galveston on the highly traveled Interstate 45 (100,000 vehicles per day), Exit 17 at Holland Road. When completed, the center will house more than 90 brand name and designer outlet stores in the first phase of approximately 350,000 square feet. The center is on 55 acres with ample room for future expansion of approximately 120,000 square feet, for a total build out of approximately 470,000 square feet. Leading brand name and designer outlets opening in the first phase include Banana Republic Factory Store, Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Calvin Klein, Gap Factory Store, Guess Factory Store, Nine West, Perry Ellis, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger and Under Armour.

The new outlet center is expected to provide a significant boost to the area's local economy. The Tanger and Simon development in Texas City should create many opportunities for employment. During the center's year long building phase which will culminate in an opening in 2012, more than 400 quality construction jobs are being created. The retailers are expected to employ more than 900 in full- and part-time retail management and sales jobs.

"Having one of the state's largest retail shopping developments taking place here is a tremendous economic stimulus for our City, our region and the entire state of Texas," said Texas City Mayor Matthew Doyle. "Tanger and Simon are going to bring us the type of first class outlet shopping destination they are both so well known for and our local residents can work and thrive with more jobs, jobs, jobs. We are thrilled for this development and growth in Texas City," adds Doyle.

"It is gratifying to be able to invest in Texas and to create this upscale outlet shopping destination that is expected to attract millions of regional residents in the Houston marketplace and travelers coming to and from the beautiful beaches of Galveston. We are proud to be building this major attraction that is expected to be a success for many years to come," collectively stated Steven B. Tanger, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. and David Simon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Simon Property Group, Inc.

The joint venture will be co-owned by Tanger and Simon; Tanger will provide management services and marketing to the joint venture. Both companies will provide leasing services.

RELATED POSTS:

• Tanger and Simon Announce a Joint Venture South of Houston