Via Outlets footfall rises, brand sales rise even faster

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 13, 2019

European outlet malls operator Via Outlets has reported “strong results and continued growth” on the back of  its major remodelling work across its portfolio.

The company, which is owned APG and UK property giant Hammerson, has continued to transform its centres into premium fashion outlets in 2018 and 2019 and is seeing higher footfall as a result. Importantly too, visitors are clearly spending more per head as brand sales growth is outstripping its visitor traffic rises. The company said it saw a 10% increase in brand sales on an 8% rise in footfall in the first half of the year.

This has been helped by its upgrade and extension works and in October, its Hede Fashion Outlet, in Gothenburg in Sweden, opened a new revamped and extended 3,000 sq m area with 14 new stores.

The outlet, which is Western Sweden's largest, has had “another successful year and is bucking the downward retail trend” in Sweden of falling sales and store closures, seeing a year-to-date 12% increase in brand sales and the number of visitors increase by 6%, the company said.

It added that the extension mean October hit record numbers, with brand sales increasing by 45% and the number of guests by 37% year-on-year.

It has also been remodelling Portugal’s Vila do Conde Porto Fashion Outlet and even while this process is still under way, the centre posted some impressive results this half-year with 8% growth in brand sales recorded.

CEO Otto Ambagtsheer, who this year stepped up from his previous role as COO, said: “Our half-year results once again prove the successful execution of our strategy, as well as the resilience of the wider outlet market.”