Post-pandemic innovation led to ‘golden age’ for the outlet sector

ITALIAN designer outlet operator Arcus Real Estate has returned to 2019 levels of brand sales, boosted 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.