As outlet centres relaunch across Europe following the easing of lockdown protocols, new insights suggest that their discount premium-fashion formula could prove relatively pandemic-resilient.
Fresh data for Poland from JLL has found that outlets across the country are already racking up more than 80% of average footfall for this time of year.
'We estimate that after the opening of outlets, on average, even more than 80% of customers have returned, compared to last year’s footfall. Similar results can be observed in the case of convenience amenities, retail parks and local shopping centres, where the visit rate is close to pre-pandemic levels,' said Anna Wysocka, head of retail agency at JLL.
Wysocka added: 'The high footfall in outlet centres is also due to the shopping habits of Polish consumers, who like to hunt for bargains. This aspect is much more marked now, as we are planning household expenses in a much more careful manner.'
Spanish multinational Neinver reports that it has now reopened 100% of its outlet portfolio in Europe. Its four Greater Madrid and Barcelona centres were the last to relaunch, after a hiatus of more than three months.
Relaunch protocols
Neinver locked down its 16 outlets across five European countries in March, with its German centres the first to reopen on 20 April. All its outlet centres have reopened with hygiene and social distancing protocols in place.
'We are very excited to have our full portfolio open as of today,' said Daniel Losantos, chief operating officer, on 8 June. 'As evidenced by our reopening across Europe, there is a growing demand for our outlet offer. We are seeing improvements, with sales and footfall progressively increasing every week in all our centres. However, it is early to make predictions and we must continue the hard work to deliver the best experience to our customers.'
Losantos added: 'Our outlet centres have shown great resilience in previous recessions thanks to the company's intensive management model, the attractiveness of its offer for consumers and, now more than ever, the need for many brands to sell their accumulated stock.'
During the shutdown, Neinver said that it continued with the renovation of Getafe The Style Outlets in Madrid, which opened on 8 June with 100% of the refurbishment completed and 12 additional brands in place.
Neinver said that it had also pushed hard during the lockdown to advance the development of Amsterdam The Style Outlets - a scheme under the joint venture between Neinver and Nuveen Real Estate – to keep its launch on track.
'With all the safety measures in place, our focus now is to keep on working closely with our brand partners, understand their needs and offer them the best solutions to gradually recover the level of activity we had,' concluded Losantos.
Stock opportunity
Resolution Property, which owns two outlet centres in Europe, reopened its German and French schemes in April and May respectively. Designer Outlet Soltau, located between Hamburg and Hanover, was able to relaunch on 23 April, after just five weeks of closure.
However, Resolution's Honfleur Normandy in France, had to wait until 11 May to welcome the public again, with new sanitary and hygiene measures in place. Said Resolution's Mayte Legeay, senior asset manager Europe: 'We were pleasantly surprised to see that on the Monday 11 May, 85% of the retailers at Honfleur opened their doors - for the first time since 15 March - to reassuring queues of customers all waiting patiently to get back to 'normal'.
'Just months ago, such long waiting times would have been unbearable put-offs for consumers but, for now, they are just accepted as part and parcel of the shopping experience.'
Legeay added: 'Although the Covid-19 pandemic has affected retail, we are confident about outlets’ resilience.
'Outlets have usually worked well in economic crises; brands have huge amounts of stock unsold due to the retail closure period in many countries and outlets are a great answer to destock, either through long-term leases or through pop-up stores. We are working with many brand partners to offer them flexible solutions and open pop-up stores in our outlet centres to help them move their stock.'
