Designer Outlet Soltau Pre-acquisition Strategy
About the brand
Designer Outlet Soltau (DOS) is located in Lower Saxony’s Heidekreis district. Opened in 2012, DOS serves a 90 minute catchment of 9.3 million residents, while Heidekreis attracts nearly 2.5 million annual overnight visits. DOS has more than 80 designer brands including global retailers such as Nike, Esprit, Gant and Lacoste.
Resolution Property instructed Pragma to provide a pre-acquisition study of DOS, prior to purchasing the site for its European outlet fund.
The Challenge/Task
Understand the effect of outlet scheme developments on sales growth at DOS
Identify the opportunity to increase provision at DOS
WHAT WE DID
Undertook a detailed site and desk review of the catchment and customer potential
Prioritised growth opportunities through a Trading Gap assessment.
Identified target occupiers for enhancing the retail mix with more globally recognised, Assured Fashion brands.
Combined capacity and impact analysis to quantify the effect of additional space at competing outlet schemes and the opportunity for further provision at DOS.
The Result
Pragma’s findings showed that the trading opportunity at DOS is robust, with substantial opportunities to grow turnover at DOS by enhancing the retail offer and ensuring significant differentiation from competing sites. The strong local tourist market presents a genuinely unique asset and Pragma recommended a series of actions to tune the offer to take advantage of the picturesque surroundings.
With the acquisition of DOS completed, Resolution Property is now working with the operator to develop and implement new asset management initiatives.
“Pragma’s research confirmed the scale of untapped potential at DOS and gave us confidence in completing the acquisition. Having purchased DOS, we are now actively engaged in delivering the full potential of this exciting investment.”