31
d'Octubre
de
2016 - 05:22
A weekend that many people will stretch out through Tuesday was chosen for the opening of The Style Outlets, the new shopping centre in Viladecans (Baix Llobregat). It did so under the 'outlet' concept, a term that during the years of economic crisis has become more attractive for many shoppers. While these types of retailers offer products from previous seasons, it is all about spending, and on Thursday some 32,000 people went to Viladecans to be the first to check out a centre that ended up opening half an hour earlier due to the large crowds.
One of the shops visitors will find in The Style Outlets is Cottet, which with this shop now has 45 sales points in Spain and Andorra. "It has beaten expectations," Javier Cottet, CEO of the historic company, told VIA Empresa. The opticians' has invested 160,000 euros in the new shop and has eight employees working in what is the firm's second outlet shop, after the one in La Roca Village. Moreover, unlike the Vallès outlet, the one in Viladecans also includes an audiology service.
"We are clear about the fact that for our purchasing logistics and the positioning of the company to clients, it is positive to have some shops offering our products at a very good price," adds Cottet. Above all, the outlet format allows the company " a place to sell off excess stock and, at the same time, take the risk of buying more daring product." It is product that "if you do not sell it in six months or a year, you send it to the outlets," he points out. In all, Javier Cottet insists that the outlet "allows us to have a better purchasing department than before."
A tourist attraction?
One of the attractions of the new The Style Outlets is its proximity to Barcelona. It is a location that allows the centre's promoters, Neinver and TH Real Estate, to try to position it as a tourist attraction. In fact, they say that on the opening day a number of tourists took advantage of the shuttle bus and registered the first duty free purchases for non-EU residents.
The 1,700 parking places, intercity buses and the Viladecans train station allow for easy access to the shopping centre from the Catalan capital. Nevertheless, Javier Cottet predicts that the Viladecans centre "will be much more for domestic shoppers than tourists." The businessman recognises that it is still too early to know for sure, but "while in La Roca Village some 70 or 80% of the public are tourists, here I think that the public will be made up much more of people who visit regularly." If people from Barcelona cannot be bothered making the trip to the Vallès Oriental to browse for a product, "they can get to Viladecans by scooter."
Quality products
One issue that most concerns the head of Cottet is to show that for his company the outlet shop is not a place that offers lower quality products. "We have spent more than 100 years trying to be honest with customers and we want to make it very clear that the product we have here really did come from our other shops." It is stock with full guarantees that "is a real opportunity to buy a product that is only six months to a year old. The outlet is a way for us to complete the circle," he insists.
One of the shops visitors will find in The Style Outlets is Cottet, which with this shop now has 45 sales points in Spain and Andorra. "It has beaten expectations," Javier Cottet, CEO of the historic company, told VIA Empresa. The opticians' has invested 160,000 euros in the new shop and has eight employees working in what is the firm's second outlet shop, after the one in La Roca Village. Moreover, unlike the Vallès outlet, the one in Viladecans also includes an audiology service.
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| Cottet also has an audiology service in its outlet in Viladecans. Ceded |
"We are clear about the fact that for our purchasing logistics and the positioning of the company to clients, it is positive to have some shops offering our products at a very good price," adds Cottet. Above all, the outlet format allows the company " a place to sell off excess stock and, at the same time, take the risk of buying more daring product." It is product that "if you do not sell it in six months or a year, you send it to the outlets," he points out. In all, Javier Cottet insists that the outlet "allows us to have a better purchasing department than before."
A tourist attraction?
One of the attractions of the new The Style Outlets is its proximity to Barcelona. It is a location that allows the centre's promoters, Neinver and TH Real Estate, to try to position it as a tourist attraction. In fact, they say that on the opening day a number of tourists took advantage of the shuttle bus and registered the first duty free purchases for non-EU residents.
The 1,700 parking places, intercity buses and the Viladecans train station allow for easy access to the shopping centre from the Catalan capital. Nevertheless, Javier Cottet predicts that the Viladecans centre "will be much more for domestic shoppers than tourists." The businessman recognises that it is still too early to know for sure, but "while in La Roca Village some 70 or 80% of the public are tourists, here I think that the public will be made up much more of people who visit regularly." If people from Barcelona cannot be bothered making the trip to the Vallès Oriental to browse for a product, "they can get to Viladecans by scooter."
 |
| 6,000 people queued to get into The Style Outlets on its opening day. Ceded |
Quality products
One issue that most concerns the head of Cottet is to show that for his company the outlet shop is not a place that offers lower quality products. "We have spent more than 100 years trying to be honest with customers and we want to make it very clear that the product we have here really did come from our other shops." It is stock with full guarantees that "is a real opportunity to buy a product that is only six months to a year old. The outlet is a way for us to complete the circle," he insists.