Nov 9, 2017
2 minutes
Fashion & sports brands lead the way at Hammerson centres
Nov 9, 2017
Shopping centre owner Hammerson said on Thursday that fashion and sports brands such as Flannels, Coach and JD Sports, and personal luxury goods like Rituals and Pandora, accounted for the strongest leasing demand in the third quarter of the year.
Despite the challenging retail conditions in the UK and elsewhere, occupancy at Hammerson shopping centres remained stable at 97% across its European portfolio, it said.
The shopping centre owner said it has seen retailers increasingly investing in store technology and layouts to support their multichannel offer, and are using data analytics to inform store location decisions and maximise the 'clicks & bricks' strategy.
In UK centres, third-quarter in-store tenant sales were flat, revealing a slight improving trend after a 5% decline in the first quarter and a 2.4% fall in the second quarter of the year.
In France, sales grew 5.6% year-on-year with the seasonality of the summer sales period boosting fashion sales, and in Ireland, the centres performed “in line with the market”, said Hammerson, citing a 4.2% rise.
Value Retail, the company behind Bicester Village that is 40% owned by Hammerson, reported an 8.3% increase in in-store sales boosted by its premium outlets in Bicester Village and Fidenza, Milan, while VIA Outlets sales were up 12.4% in the period.
David Atkins, Chief Executive of Hammerson said brands are “continuing to prioritise space in well-invested, prime locations”.
“In the UK and France, our tenant sales have shown an encouraging pattern of improvement in Q3. The backdrop for retailers in the UK remains challenging but we believe our assets are well-positioned and will be resilient. Our growth markets of Dublin and Premium Outlets continue to outperform strongly and differentiate our attractive investment case,” he said.
The company acquired Oslo Outlet in Norway in September and secured direct ownership of the Pavilions Shopping Centre in Dublin.
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