Who is the premium outlets model

The outdoor mall features a collection of attractive retail stores aligned along Pedestrian Gallery Promenades. Access to the Pedestrian Promenades are provided from six well-defined and visually appealing Entry Plazas. The Pedestrian Gallery Promenades are arranged in an easy-to-navigate rectilinear pattern. Attractive courtyards with seating and landscaping occur where the Pedestrian Promenades intersect.

Portions of the Pedestrian Promenades are covered with a steel framed roof and include attractive lighting, benches, trees and shrubs so that pedestrians feel safe, comfortable and are encouraged to shop and stay longer. And the old Sears store at Lakeline Mall in Cedar Park is for sale and being marketed as a redevelopment opportunity , perhaps for a distribution warehouse. Outlet malls have seen far less carnage than other retail locations during the pandemic.

When Placer Labs Inc. Kaminer said a similar trend is being felt across the Austin metro, with a "major surge" in sales at discount retail. That transition has given outlet malls the perception of being a safe haven for other retailers — particularly store operators suffering the most as foot traffic declines in traditional shopping malls. He pointed to two Florida properties — Tampa Premium Outlets and Tanger Outlets Daytona Beach — as examples where that snowball effect has gained momentum.

Please Sign In and use this article's on page print button to print this article. Nov 26, Johnson also said that even though retailers such as Ann and Chico's reported traffic levels had fallen during the holidays, the weakness was more symptomatic of a bad season for the entire sector, including online shopping.

Read More A 'tsunami' of store closings seen hitting retail. What's more, the low costs associated with buying land in these typically suburban areas—along with the low costs of building the centers themselves—continue to make them a "win-win" proposition for both retailers and developers, Johnson said. But the challenge becomes harder for those brands that are still in their infancy in terms of developing an outlet strategy, such as American Eagle , Lejuez said.

Outlet centers' new tenants in paid 38 percent more than what were being paid by prior tenants under their previous lease, he said, citing data from Wells Fargo and Tanger Outlets. It's also more of a challenge for the less popular brands to get space in the premium outlet centers due to such high demand, Johnson said.

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