Seventeen of the 58 fashion outlets planned for a new discount village beside Kildare town are now open for business but are attracting fewer customers than expected because there has been virtually no promotion for the new facility. Jack Fagan reports.
Value Retail, the UK company behind what it calls the "chic outlet shopping", is apparently holding back on advertising the complex until several more of the traders are ready to start trading. "This is a sneak preview," says Frank Blachette, group retail and marketing director.
"We believe in organic growth. We first establish a presence and then promote locally and regionally."
The Kildare centre is, surprisingly, to be promoted as a "tourist retail outlet" with visitors offered shuttle bus services to local attractions, including the Irish National Stud and, on race days, to the Curragh and Punchestown.
Value Retail says that once Kildare Village gets into full swing it expects that, like its other village in Bicester near Oxford, it will attract 1.5 or 1.6 million shoppers in the first year, with possibly up to 400,000 of the customers travelling on the 35-minute direct rail service from Heuston Station to Kildare. A shuttle bus is already operating every 15 minutes between the station and the new village. The centre is located along the Kildare town slipway off the M7 motorway - about 35 miles from Dublin. It is little more than half an hour's drive from the city.
The largest outlet (550sq m/5,920sq ft) so far is occupied by Nike and it is trading alongside Coast (fashion), Karen Millen (fashion), Levi (jeans), Le Creuset (cookware), Move (towels and bedding), Petit Bateau (French children's wear), Quiksilver (beach wear), TSE Cashmere (knitwear), Reebok (sportswear) and Myla (lingerie).
Three cafés and restaurants already trading are Café Coton, Starbucks and L'Officina Dunne & Crescenzi.
Traders are required to drop prices for out-of-season or end-of-line merchandise by at least 33 per cent but, according to Value Retail, goods generally will be available at discounts of around 50 per cent. "Our experience is that people shop in our villages because of the good products, good pricing and a good experience," says Blachette. "Customers don't come to us to save money, they come to spend twice as much."
Value Retail, which operates eight similar villages in the UK and the Continent, has recruited a senior executive of Dunnes Stores, Marie McGovern, to run the Kildare centre.
Traders opening in the new complex will not be able to avail of a traditional lease but rather a 10-year licence. They will pay 12.5 per cent of their turnover in royalties or a minimum of €40 per sq m per month, whichever is the highest. Royalties are generally raised after the first year.
The opening of the Kildare designer fashion outlet will create further problems for another factory outlet at Rathdowney, Co Laois, which has failed to make a major impact because of its long distance from centres with large populations. The only other factory outlet complex in the State is in Killarney and it has also been struggling since it was opened by Green Property.
Kildare County Council granted planning permission for the Kildare centre even though An Bord Pleanála had previously overruled a decision for a similar facility at Goffs near Kill on the grounds that it would lead to congestion on the motorway.
Factory outlet shopping has been one of the most vibrant retail sectors in the British and US markets in recent years. The concept has been slow to take off here because the Irish planning authorities have frequently cited the inadequacy of roads as a reason for refusing planning permission.
However, a new factory outlet centre is to be built at Ballymascanlan, outside Dundalk, about 20 miles from a similar complex which is under construction at Banbridge.
