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MAY
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Cover
Story
2001’s
Industry Numbers
Outlet development has always been a retailer-driven industry, so
when the chains close, consolidate or just simply sit tight, very
little expansion and new development takes place. The year 2001
was a tough one all round, with a recession rearing its ugly head
and the tragic events beginning on Sept. 11. Outlet industry sales
were down, but most centers and most chains continued to pull their
weight and turn a profit.
Retail
Focus
 Bankruptcies,
Closings Pinch
Here today, gone tomorrow. Outlet developers struggle to keep their
store bays full as growing numbers of retailers close stores. A
look at outlet chains that have closed recently reflects the challenge
developers face to keep their projects full.
Sartorial Splendor
Retail consultant Jack Abelson reports on menswear merchandising
trends evident during the 2002 spring MAGIC show. Brown is in, he
says, and black is out.
Wilsons Leather Q&A
The president of Wilsons Leather Outlet, one of the most actively
expanding chains in the outlet industry, explains why outlets are
important to his growing company.
Features
 Southwest
Spotlight
The 50 outlet centers that dot the Southwest prove there’s
no way to stereotype a region that refuses to be stereotyped. A
look at the region’s biggest and newest centers underscores
that contention.
 Rising
Rinku
The recent expansions of Rinku Premium Outlets near Osaka, Japan’s
second biggest market, added not only 40 new tenants but gave the
two-level retail project bragging rights as the country’s largest
outlet center. The opening of the second phase of Rinku Premium
Outlets added 70,000 sf of mostly apparel tenants to the center,
increasing its GLA by 28 percent to 250,000 sf.
Taubman’s Triumph
An in-house approach to specialty leasing works wonders as Taubman
Co. nurtures retail merchandising units to fill vacancies in the
common areas and in-line space.
Wheeling, W. Va., Wonder
What two years ago seemed like little more than a developer’s
pipe dream — to convert much of historic downtown Wheeling,
W.Va., into a restored retail district teeming with outlet and other
value-oriented stores – got a big boost in March as the state
legislature provided a possible funding mechanism to cover about
half of the cost of the adaptive-reuse project.
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