McArthurGlen to double retail space by 2019

McArthurGlen, which owns the Cheshire Oaks and Ashford designer outlet centres in the UK, has announced that it is looking to expand its global retail space to around 9,687,500 square feet by 2019.

As Europe’s leading owner, developer and manager of designer outlets, McArthurGlen is looking to capitalise on its strong financial performance, which has seen its portfolio total centre turnover grow by almost 30 percent in the last three 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 percent.

It’s this strong growth that is driving its expansion and its portfolio of centres will rise to 22, following the joint venture announced with the Ochtrup designer outlet, near Münster, with seven new centres underway or in planning and due for completion by 2019, while eight centres are undergoing expansion.

The eight McArthurGlen sites that are expanding include Ashford in the UK, La Reggia, Naples, Noventa di Piave, Venice, Serravalle, Milan, Parndorf, Austria, Roermond, in the Netherlands, Vancouver, Canada and the recently extended Neumunster in Hamburg. While the seven new centres being planned are Ghent, Málaga, Normandie, Provence, Remscheid and two centres in Istanbul.

Gary Bond, managing director of development, McArthurGlen Designer Outlets, said: “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.”

McArthurGlen’s strong financial performance driving expansion

2015 has also been a great year for attracting new brands to its designer outlets, this year the company has secured more than 50 new brands including Coach, Cesare Paciotti, Frey Wille, J. Crew, Kiton, Ports 1961 and Thomas Sabo to its portfolio.

Adrian Nelson, group leasing and CRM director, McArthurGlen Designer Outlets, added: “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.

“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 has also assisted in the designer outlet centres growth, with tourism sales quadrupling 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 percent year-on-year to date.

McArthurGlen has six outlets across the UK in Ashford in Kent, Cheshire Oaks near Manchester, Swindon, Nottingham, Bridgend in Wales, and York.

Images: Ashford Designer Outlet