Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Upscale Shopping Centers Slowly Take Over Europe



Ahh... the upscale shopping center. The place where middle and upper class citizens across the world get their luxury goods... especially when they live in a city that's deemed less than fashionable.

The shopping center has been around for years, especially in the west, where the need for instant gratification, luxury fashion, and the high end designer lines reached as far out as rural areas who have never seen a Saks Fifth Ave or a Nordstorms.

Last week, in Berlin, beyond the Prussian guards and a quaint little village, the Berlin Designer Outlet Center was born. It was built to resemble a German country village and is apart of a growing trend across Europe. Last year alone the number of outlets in Europe increased and the openings are still coming.

McArthurGlen was founded in 1993 by J.W. Kaempfer and the company opened their first designer outlet in Europe in 1998 and they now operate 17 outlets and generated 2.8 billion last year.

Think back, when the designer outlet first hit America... how they slowly grew into a phenomenon and how now you can find one around the corner or in the closet upscale city. Now think about the amount of land available in Europe. They may be on to something.

Sponsored by: Comfortable Bras

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