AUGUST
2002
Cover
Story
 Best
of the Best Centers
The Outlet Retail Merchants Association releases its 2001 list of
the nation’s top outlet centers as determined by sales per square
foot. Results show several new to the list, but the majority are repeat
performers.
Features
Fall
VRN Convention
VRN’s 19th consecutive Fall Outlet Retail Convention, Sept.
30-Oct. 2 in Orlando, will feature an exciting keynote speaker,
a Sock Hop Party for the entire industry, and educational workshops
on meaty topics of interest.
 Cabin
Fever
Offering a new merchandise category, Prime Outlets at Loveland (Colo.)
celebrates the grand opening of a rustic-looking home that will
serve as a sales office for a line of upscale, cabin-like homes.
The center hopes to attract shoppers from wider distances and lure
more furniture and home furnishings retailers.
Global
Outlets
 Outlets,
Italian Style
Factory outlet shopping has caught on in Italy, where such labels
as Prada, Armani, Fendi, Dolce e Gabbana, Helmut Lang, Jil Sander
and Gucci are popular. Developers are jumping on board, with
four American-style projects under construction and a handful
of others awaiting approvals.
 Normalcy
in Euroland – Sort Of
Eight months after the European common currency – the euro
– was introduced, European residents have left their euro-conversion
calculators at home, yet consumers remain skeptical. |
 Century
21: Back to Business
The collapse of the World Trade Towers miraculously did no structural
damage to Century 21, Lower Manhattan’s largest store, which
reopened in February.
 Color
Me Retail
Crayola opens a colorful, fun store in Arundel Mills that is warmly
received by kids and their parents.
Dolphin
Mall Leaps
Taubman Co. understands that marketing a value/entertainment megamall
in the heart of Miami’s Hispanic population is best done at
the local level, not from the developer’s corporate offices
in Michigan.
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