The results of the latest ‘Factory Outlet Centre Performance Report Europe 2015’ by ecostra and Magdus have been released. The report is published as an annual update by ecostra now for the eighth successive year.
The report surveys international brand manufacturers in regard to the economic performance of their stores in single a Outlet Centre and is the only Europe-wide survey of its kind. All outlet centres in the survey have been in operation for more than two years. Only brands that have at least 3 stores in different centres in Europe could participate in the survey. Participants were the decision-makers (sales manager, expansion manager) of brands in the head offices, as opposed to the store managers on site because only the former have the ability and overview to assess the performance of outlet stores in different centres. A total of 90 international manufacturers have participated in the survey, amounting to approx. 125 brands as several manufacturers are responsible for more than one brand.
The most profitable outlet centre is the ‘Designer Outlet Centre’in Roermond, the Netherlands. The centre is part of the McArthurGlen portfolio, the biggest European operator of Outlet Centres, and has been consistently been in the top 3 since 2011. Located a stone’s throw away from the German border, it is open all year round apart from Christmas and New Year, and recorded a high rush of customers from neighbouring Germany.
Of the newcomers, 'London Designer Outlet' ranked top 5. The centre opened only in October 2013 and is located very close to the Wembley football stadium in London. Its economic success illustrates the decreasing importance of the so called 'retail sensitivity' for brands - the need for a larger spatial distance to the brand-oriented high streets of big cities to avoid cannibalisation of its own sales partners.
The study confirms the results from previous years that the size of the outlet centre is a contributing factor to the success of a store; larger outlet centres with a high number of stores enable better revenues for the tenants on average than small-scaled locations with few branded goods.
The Factory Outlet Centre Performance Report Europe 2015 can be ordered in ecostra's webshop from the beginning of December 2015.
For an overview of outlet centres in Europe download Outlet Centres in Europe 2015 by ecostra here.
