Post-pandemic innovation led to ‘golden age’ for the outlet sector
Arcus Real Estate’s Luca Nasi
by a revival of shopping tourism and innovations brought in across the portfolio post-COVID. The company has seen a revival of interest in outlet shopping, which Arcus general manager Luca Nasi has said is “swimming against the tide” of challenges hitting other retail spaces. Nasi said that Arcus experienced something of a “golden age” in the period immediately after the 2020 pandemic, when many retailers with high levels of unsold stock turned to outlets for the first time. Where many outlets rely heavily on tourism from Asia, in particular China, Nasi said that Arcus’ three outlets in Italy and one in Sicily benefit from
high levels of tourism from France, Switzerland and the UK. He said that the company remains focused on Italy, and that any future expansion of its portfolio would likely be within its domestic market. Since COVID Arcus has introduced a number of innovations and renovations of its centres, such as bringing in facilities for childcare and baby feeding, improvements to its VIP lounges, new info points throughout its centres and hands-free shopping services. Nasi said that the company has also embraced new digital services that allow customers to research the brands and products available in its centres online before visiting.
Rituals sees ‘exponential growth’ GETTING the fundamentals of a business correct before driving growth is essential to long-term success, said Raymond Cloosterman,
Rituals CEO Raymond Cloosterman
CEO and founder of Rituals, at yesterday’s MAPIC keynote address. “Rituals wasn’t an overnight success,” he said. “It took four years to get
from one store to our second store. We were told we had to choose luxury or mainstream and we decided to start in the middle. By staying close to this segment, we started to grow. The first 10 years we were building and learning. The last 10 years have been about exponential growth and growing very fast.” Today the company has more than 1,200 stores, and big expansion plans across Europe and Asia, as well as digitally. Cloosterman said the growth had been driven by a constant focus on innovation and investing in staff and that stores and the in-store service that they provide remain essential for the Rituals brand.
Ben Perman, interior design senior associate director at Benoy
TRANSFORMING ASSETS ENTICES VISITORS TO STAY LONGER REGENERATING and revitalising centres to become destinations that consumers want to visit and that take into account their changed behaviours and shopping trends has become a key focus for landlords and developers across the world as they look to the future, according to Ben Perman, interior design senior associate director at Benoy. “We are seeing a shift in how they look to invest in their assets and how they are looking to transform them for the longer term,” he said. “It’s about high-quality design of landlord spaces that encourages visitors to dwell and stay for longer. Investment in the malls — and experiences within — that will encourage better tenants to come or existing ones to invest, and adding in experiential leisure that pulls in footfall.”
M A P I C N E W S DA I LY 3 , N OV E M B E R 2 0 2 3
ITALIAN designer outlet operator Arcus Real Estate has returned to 2019 levels of brand sales, boosted
THE MAPIC NEWSROOM IS LOCATED IN HALL MEDITERRANEE
DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Michel Filzi EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief, Mark Faithfull; Sub Editor, Julian Newby; Proof Reader, Debbie Lincoln; Reporters, Clive Bull, Ben Cooper, Liz Morrell; Editorial Management, Boutique Media International; Graphic Studio, studioA Design; Graphic Designers, Harriet Palmer, Sunnie Newby; Head of Photographers, Yann Coatsaliou/360 Medias; Photographers, Frederic Dides PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Publishing Director, Martin Screpel; Publishing Manager, Christelle Dedeystere; Printer CMPC-IAPCA, Le Muy (France).
THURSDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2023 WWW.MAPIC.COM
Advertising contact in Cannes : Aswad Regent aswad.regent@rxglobal.com RX France, a French joint stock company with a capital of 90,000,000 euros, having its registered offices at 52 Quai de Dion Bouton 92800 Puteaux, France, registered with the Nanterre Trade and Companies Register under n°410 219 364 - VAT number: FR92 410 219 364. Contents ©2023, RX France Market Publications. Printed on PEFC certified paper All MAPIC print products are printed on paper from sustainably managed sources using printing processes that comply with the PEFC standard.
9
