Romania's first outlet remains a weekend destination

With an average of 5,000 visitors per day, lower than those of a traditional mall, Fashion House, the only outlet centre in Romania, pursues a strategy based on up to 70% cheaper products – a characteristic of outlet stores – and on the fact that three out of four customers that enter the store buy at least one product, whilst in a mall, only one in four customers makes a purchase. Although representatives of the shopping centre stand by their 1.5 million-visitor target for the first year in business, the outlet in the West of Bucharest (the Militari exit of the Bucharest-Pitesti motorway) remains a weekend destination, at least that is what tenants say. In addition, the occupancy degree of the centre is 75%, whilst the developer was expecting 90% in the first year.