INDIANAPOLIS — Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) continues to add to its massive retail portfolio with the opening of two new projects: Gloucester Premium Outlets in Gloucester Township, N.J., and the expansion of San Francisco Premium Outlets. With the expansion, San Francisco Premium Outlets is now the largest outlet center in California.
The new 376,000-square-foot outlet mall in Gloucester Township serves shoppers in southern New Jersey and metro Philadelphia. The single-level, outdoor village-style shopping center features a racetrack design and a Market Hall that offers dining options, indoor and outdoor seating, a media center with flat screen televisions and free Wi-Fi.
The mall’s tenant roster includes Armani Outlet, Banana Republic Factory Store, Calvin Klein, Cole Haan, Columbia Sportswear, Lucky Brand, Nike Factory Store, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, Under Armour and Vera Bradley.
With the expansion, San Francisco Premium Outlets is now the largest outlet center in California. (Photo courtesy of Simon Property Group)
On the other side of the country, Simon has opened the 185,000-square-foot expansion of San Francisco Premium Outlets, an upscale outlet mall in San Francisco featuring retailers such as Burberry, Coach, Kate Spade New York, MaxMara, Michael Kors and Prada.
The expansion adds 30 new stores to the development, including CH Carolina Herrera, Catimini, ECCO, Rag & Bone New York, Scotch & Soda, Ted Baker London, Tory Burch, UGG Australia and Vince. An additional 20 stores will open in the next few weeks, according to Simon. Simon’s redevelopment and expansion projects, including the addition of new anchors, were underway at 28 properties in the U.S. as of June 30. Simon’s share of the costs of all development and redevelopment projects under construction at quarter-end was approximately $2.3 billion.
“From New Jersey to California, whether it’s expanding an extremely successful center or developing one from the ground up to meet tenant and customer demand, Simon’s Premium Outlets platform delivers,” says Stephen Yalof, CEO of Simon Premium Outlets. “This is a big day for us and illustrates yet again how we create the best outlet shopping environments in the world.”
As of June 30, the retail centers in Simon’s portfolio had an occupancy rate of 96 percent, down 40 basis points since June 30, 2014. However, total sales per square foot are up 2 percent in that same time frame, with sales averaging $620 per square foot.
“This was an excellent quarter for Simon, with strong financial and operational performance,” says David Simon, chairman and CEO of Simon Property Group. “Our growing development and redevelopment opportunities position us to continue to deliver strong results for our stockholders.”
Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group owns 85 Simon Premium Outlets in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico and South Korea, and manages a retail network that drives approximately $60 billion in U.S. annual sales. Through its subsidiary partnership, Simon currently owns or has an interest in 323 properties in the United States containing an aggregate of approximately 245 million square feet in 41 states plus Puerto Rico. Simon also owns interests in 53 European shopping centers in France, Italy, and Poland; 5 Premium Outlet Centers in Japan; and one Premium Outlet Center in Mexico.
Simon’s stock price closed Wednesday, Aug. 12, at $191.99 per share, up 13.9 percent from $168.52 per share at this time last year.
— John Nelson