Page 25 - September 2020

COVER STORY | RIOJA ESTATES
Transforming
the Experience
Grantham Designer Outlet Village will be a state-of-the-art retail
destination that is being designed to reimagine its visitors’ shopping and
leisure experience. RLI sits down with some of the key people behind the
project to learn more about this upcoming premium outlet development.
GRANTHAM DESIGNER OUTLET VILLAGE
Grantham, UK
ALPES THE STYLE OUTLETS WEST MIDLANDS DESIGNER OUTLET
Valserhône, France
24 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL SEPTEMBER 2020
ioja Estates, the developers behind the fashion brands that would never go to Grantham town centre,
Grantham Designer Outlet Village, is a leading to complement the offer there and provide linked trips to
Grantham and surrounding tourist destinations.”
Outlet specialist with over 30 years’ experience.
R Its team has successfully undertaken many coronavirus outbreak, new initiatives are being considered
With the project due to be constructed in the wake of the
designer outlet developments in the UK and Europe. Giles
Membrey was instrumental in the birth of the outlet sector for the scheme in order to keep both guests and staff safe.
in the UK, developing schemes from start to finish, including Initiatives being considered include the permanent and
site selection, through planning, design, construction, funding, temporary sanitisation points for hand washing, two metre
pre-leasing, operational launch and asset management. indicators embedded in a sensitive and attractive way in
Successful schemes for McArthurGlen include Bridgend, paving and landscaping, extending the window canopies
Swindon and East Midlands. Other successes are: Premier to make social distance queuing more comfortable, app-
Outlet Centre, Budapest; Neinver’s Alpes The Style Outlets, based virtual queuing systems for car parks, individual stores
France; The Boulevard, Northern Ireland and ICON at the and restaurants and the creation of a bespoke Grantham
O2, London. Current projects include McArthurGlen’s West Designer Outlet Village -branded online sales platform to
Midlands Designer Outlet and Grantham Designer Outlet improve customer access to brands and create a halo effect
Village, Lincolnshire, UK. in case of future issues.
Upon completion in 2022, Grantham Designer Outlet From the outset of the development, Rioja has kept in
Village will become the UK’s only premium outlet with a close contact with all of its brands and through the crisis this
visible frontage to the A1, allowing direct access from the effort has only increased. “Although most of them have been
UK’s third busiest highway. The project has been inspired firefighting in their full price business, they have still been very
by the surrounding countryside and its buildings are being keen to keep conversations with us going, as many have built
conceived as traditional forms with contemporary finishes up overstocks during the lockdown period,” explains Adrian
and high-quality shop fronts. Taylor, Leasing Director at Rioja Estates. “Therefore leasing
“Grantham Designer Outlet Village will be a 273,000sq ft has continued for Grantham Designer Outlet Village and this
development in an open-air village format that will be situated has been helped by the fact that we already have signed
three miles South of Grantham town centre right next to terms for such brands as Armani Outlet, which sets the tone
a new junction on the busy A1,” explains Giles Membrey, for the other brands we are in discussions with.”
Founder & Managing Director of Rioja Estates, the developers Progress on-site has been pleasing as Grantham Designer
behind the scheme. “It will house 137 units, including Outlet Village works towards its 2022 opening, and, along
restaurants, coffee shops and a children’s play area, all set in a with the new Grantham Southern Relief Road which is also
beautiful environment, designed with landscaped gardens and being built, this will bring all through traffic directly past the
attractive water features, befitting its rural setting.” development upon completion.
To be split into two phases, the first phase of the project “Full planning consent has been granted and ratified by
will provide 178,213sq ft of retail with 89 stores and central government and we can now announce that all
restaurants, 1,700 parking spaces, 25 electric car charger pre-commencement conditions have been discharged. Our
spaces, a coach park, a VIP area rewarding all loyal customers, section 106 is in place, ready for the start of construction in
along with a tourist information centre and pop-up shop a few months’ time,” explains Neil Thompson, Operations &
Cannock, UK
that will showcase the retailers and businesses of Grantham. Management Director at Rioja Estates.
In its second phase, a further 94,809sq ft of retail space will In these unusual times, social media has become even
be added which will allow for an additional 48 stores and more important than ever, and during the lockdown period
dining possibilities, more parking, and a further 200 electric Rioja Estates have seen the benefit to brands and consumers
car charging points. from online channels. For this reason, they have been co-
A typical Midland market town in a tourist region of operating with Wishibam, a company already successful in
the UK, Grantham has to date suffered from the same creating online transactional platforms for physical retail
symptoms as similar towns; a homogenous and insipid retail stores, especially in outlet villages.
offer that lacks individuality and personality. Recent initiatives A platform will be created for Grantham Designer Outlet
are beginning to change this perception though, as the usual Village which will enable its retailers to offer their stores’
branded fascias are being replaced with more independent stocks for sale all day every day, for click and collect or home
retailers and F&B offerings. delivery, even in times of lockdown.
“Buckminster, a local property trust with rural, commercial “We are also working with emerging technology companies
and retail property in and around Grantham have been at the to harness, agglomerate and control the power of social
forefront of these changes,” explains Membrey. “They are also media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram,
the land owner behind Grantham Designer Outlet Village so which is very exciting as we move forward with this ground-
the aim is to enhance the region further by bringing premium breaking project,” concludes Thompson.
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