Fashion House's final phase

Warsaw-based firm The Outlet Company (TOC) has confirmed that work has begun on construction of the third and final phase of its Fashion House Outlet Center in the Warsaw suburb of Piaseczno.

The opening of the 6,500 sqm section is scheduled for November 2007. On completion of this final phase, the center will comprise 24,000 sqm, containing 130 stores and a food court. The whole investment amounts to EUR 35 (zł.133.5) million. "The completion of our Outlet Center in Warsaw within two years of opening is as positive an endorsement of the strength of the Polish market for international Outlet occupiers as it is possible to get," said Neil Thompson, CEO of TOC. Thompson added that over 1.5 million visits have been recorded at Fashion House Warsaw in its first year of trading, and retail sales comparisons were showing spectacular growth, attributed to the outlet's location just south of Warsaw city center, the catchment population of four million and the center's advertising and PR program.

The center in Warsaw first opened on November 16, 2005, at which time construction work had already started on phase two, which in turn was completed on August 23, 2006. At present, Fashion House Warsaw has 80 stores trading on over 12,500 sqm.

TOC is a joint venture between Flemish construction project developer Liebrecht & Wood and UK retail property investors. TOC has been present on the Polish commercial real-estate market for seven years and is the market-leading developer of outlet centers in Poland, with centers in Sosnowiec, Gdańsk and Warsaw.