She is the largest specialist of outlet centers in Europe and a partner of the largest real estate company in the world, the joint venture formed by Kaempfert Partners and Simon Property Group: The McArthurGlen company lands this October in Spain with Malaga Designer Outlet , its first project in this market in alliance with Sonae Sierra.
‘We are very excited about this project for several reasons: on the one hand, it is our first project in partnership with Sonae Sierra. We are in ten European countries and we have been waiting a long time to open in Spain. The company started in the 90s and Spain was always on our agenda, but until we developed the alliance with Sonae Sierra, we did not find the real opportunity to open in this market,’ explains Julia Calabrese, McArthurGlen Gobal CEO.
Since 2002 Calabrese is the first executive of this company, which welcomes more than 90 million buyers a year and has more than 30,000 people employed in its centers.
The executive joined in 1998 as Director of Operations. Previously, she had developed her professional career as executive director at the real estate consultant Cushman and Wakefield. In addition, he had worked with Joey Kaempfer, founder and president of McArthurGlen, in his firm Kaempfer Management Services. “McArthurGlen opened its first center in 1995 and since then it has developed 640,000 square meters of commercial space. In 2018, we achieved revenues of more than 4.5 billion euros and we expect that in 2019 they reach 5,000 million euros,” he explains.
Opening: next October 22
Its first center in Spain will be called Malaga Designer Outlet and will have 30,000 square meters of commercial space, which will be developed in two phases . The first one will open on October 22 with 17,500 square meters. “We are very proud to open with 80% of the pre-rented space . It is a very good percentage, because from 70% we usually consider it a good figure to start, since some brands prefer to wait to see how a center works before open in it, “explains the executive.
When finished, the outlet will have 170 stores , including premium and luxury brands, with an international and local profile, which will offer discounts of up to 70%. “We will have a mix of international and Spanish firms, which will account for 15% of the total,” he says. Among them are Adolfo Dominguez, Brooks Brothers , Diesel, Karl Lagerfeld , Maje, Sandro , Tommy Hilfiger and Under Armor , among others.
The CEO of McArthurGlen talks about his first outlet, located in Malaga.
Located three kilometers from Malaga airport and next to the train station, the project aims to become a benchmark in southern Spain, both for nationals and tourists. “Malaga is a city with three million people living in it and more than 10 million tourists who visit it annually. Our center, with a different shopping experience and being the only outlet in the south, allows you to complete the experience of going to the beach or play golf. In addition, our clients can walk to the Plaza Mayor de Sonae shopping center, which has 34 restaurants and about twenty movie theaters. They will never want to go home, “jokes Calabrese.
In total, the Malaga project will involve an investment of 140 million euros , distributed between own and bank financing, granted by BNP Paribas and Unicaja.
Together with Málaga Designer Outlet, McArthurGlen works on the implementation of new projects and extensions worth 1,000 million euros . “Malaga is going to be our outlet number 25. We have just opened another center 50 miles from Birmingham and we are working on other projects in France, near Paris, and in Germany, as well as the extension of another in Canada. In Spain, of At the moment there are no more confirmed projects because we want to focus on Malaga Designer Outlet, “says Calabrese.
