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| Excursion to Batavia Stad |
On a very rainy day in May, we had a tour around Batavia Stad by its developer, Mr. Riaskoff, CEO of Foruminvest. He explained us everything what is takes to develop a Factory Outlet Center and why he keeps some space strategically unoccupied.
Outlet shopping is a phenomenon that crossed over from America. Clothing collections change so quickly these days that there's hardly enough time to sell everything. Next to this, companies always produce more than they can possibly sell, because having to say "No, we don't have your pick in stock" is deadly. In an outlet shopping village, like "Batavia Stad", these surplus goods produced by leading brands are sold to directly to the customers. This means that an outlet is a paradise for price-conscious people because customers can buy their favorite brands at enormous discounts.
Mr. Riaskoff didn't want to create just another shopping mall with designer clothing at bargain prices, instead he was looking for a new experience. It's not just shopping, but a complete day out, for young and old. Walking around truly gives you the impression of the Netherlands in the Golden Era. Shopping can be combined with a visit to the Batavia Yard, the Nieuw Land Poldermuseum, or the Nederlands Sport Museum Olympion.
On the day of the opening, July 27th 2001, only half of the shops were occupied. Today, this has increased to 94 per cent. The reason for opening so soon was the fact that they didn't want to miss the big summer sale. Leaving space unoccupied was also important from a strategic point of view. These spaces were reserved for anchor tenants, which attract more customers as well as other leading brands. Some brands were afraid to lose customers and that shopkeepers would complain about loss of sales, but this has not been the case
After the presentation and tour we had the opportunity to do some shopping of our own.
Note: Credit Card required.
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