Armani, Hugo Boss, Moss Bros sign up for Grantham Designer Outlet Village

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Nov 23, 2021

It doesn’t open until 2023, but three major fashion names are already lined up to be part of the Grantham Designer Outlet Village development.

Armani, Hugo Boss and Moss Bros have signed to take space at the 270,000 sq ft premium outlet development in the East Midlands, serving a catchment area including Cambridge, Nottingham, Leicester, Peterborough and Lincoln.

It’s further evidence of the buoyancy in the outlets sector at present with it being one of the most successful types of shopping destination, not just in the Uk, but further afield in Europe.

Calling its Grantham signing as being “at the heart of the next stage in our company’s future,” Moss Bros spokesman Tim Morris said: “With Moss Bros having shown remarkable resilience over the pandemic, we are now firmly focused on growth beyond recovery through the development of our casual ranges and improvements in our brand proposition.”

Alongside the signings, the village will also feature online sales platform Wishibam. Claiming to be a UK-first for outlet retail destinations, the Paris-based tech firm will provide an omnichannel retail store management system offering ship-from-store and click-and-collect services.

Wishibam says the technology “enhances the physical shopping experience, providing live updates to shoppers on what is available in participating stores and helping to drive footfall and increase sales”.

Developed by property investor Buckminster and designer outlet retail specialist Rioja Estates, Grantham Designer Outlet Village is described as a “blueprint for a modern designer outlet village in a digital age”. 

The project is expected to be fully completed by summer 2023 and is expected to bring £100 million direct investment into the area and create up to 1,500 permanent jobs when it opens.

It will feature up to 90 retail units in Phase One, with up to 50 more proposed for Phase Two and is projected to achieve turnover of £400 per sq ft initially, rising to £500 per sq ft in Phase Two.

Giles Membrey, MD of Rioja Estates, said: “In the past few months alone, we have seen interest from brands more than double, reflecting the post pandemic success of outlets generally.”