THE VILLAGE, VILLEFONTAINE France
Leading the speeches at the opening, Iestyn Roberts, Chief Executive of Freeport paid tribute to local mayor, Raymond Feyssaguet and Chief Executive of Compagnie de Phalsbourg, Philippe Journo for their tenacity and vision in driving the project to a successful conclusion.
Iestyn Roberts, commented,
"The exciting and innovative new premium designer outlet The Village has opened amidst huge crowds and a massive firework display. One leading store reported taking €150,000 in the first 2 hours of trading. Located on the A43, on the way to Grenoble, about 20 minutes from Lyon city centre and 15 minutes from the airport. Designed by leading Italian architect, Gianni Ranaulo, it features glass ‘houses’, surrounded by a ring of shops, water features, musical fountains and art installations. The first phase of 24,700 m2 is already over 80% leased, and a second phase of approximately 5,000 m2 will open in 2019. The centre was developed by Compagnie de Phalsbourg in a joint venture with Freeport Retail, which holds an equity participation in the project, providing development, leasing and operations services.”
Leading the speeches at the opening, Iestyn Roberts, Chief Executive of Freeport paid tribute to local mayor, Raymond Feyssaguet and Chief Executive of Compagnie de Phalsbourg, Philippe Journo for their tenacity and vision in driving the project to a successful conclusion.
Iestyn Roberts, commented,
'We are delighted to have our open our first project in France – it’s also our first opening in Europe for 3 years, so it’s major milestone in achieving our plan to position Freeport as one of the top 3 outlet developers. It is beautiful, futuristic and has struck a real chord with brands who are tired of boring cookie cutter schemes which do not excite the customer.”
Shops at The Village feature major international brands including Polo Ralph Lauren, Columbia, Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Zadig & Voltaire, The Kooples, American Vintage, Guess, Galaries Lafayette, Geox, Asics, Sonia Rykiel, Furla, de Fursac, Home & Cook, Ted Baker. There is a delightful lakeside dining area – which passing motorists on the A43 will soon discover – featuring Italian Bistro food, a Paul Bocuse restaurant, Paul and many others.
Freeport opened the 190,000 sq,ft Freeport A’famosa Outlet near Malacca, Malaysia in 2016. In October Freeport will open Acienda Designer Outlet in The Philippines. Located 45km south of Manila and close to the weekend and holiday destination of Tagaytay. Phase 1 offers over 21,000 m2 230,000 sq.ft) GLA in 135 units and 1,600 car spaces.
In Europe Freeport manages Ringsted Outlet near Copenhagen, the only outlet village in Denmark, and is also working on a major new scheme in the UK at Grantham. The company has active development projects in Bahrain and India and has opened an office in Kuala Lumpur to manage its activities in Asia. Freeport Retail was set up by Iestyn Roberts and Chris Milliken in 2010 as a spin out of the original Freeport plc business purchased by Carlyle in 2007.
For further details contact Iestyn Roberts at ir@freeportretail.com
Openning THE VILLAGE, at VILLEFONTAINE
