Source from: 29 JAN 2016 - www.thesundaily.my
A tourism landmark with over 600,000 visitors since its soft opening!
FREEPORT A’Famosa Outlet celebrates its Grand Opening today. The Outlet offers over 80 fashion, sport, accessories, bags and shoe brands.
Set in an open air mall, the Outlet has since its soft opening on Nov 28, 2015 received more than 600,000 visitors. The Outlet features a lake, fountains, carousel and windmill with architecture themed on Malacca’s Dutch heritage.
Located just five minutes from the Alor Gajah toll on the North-South Expressway, it is easily accessible to over nine million customers from Klang Valley, Malacca and nearby towns plus the 15 million tourists who visit Malacca every year. The Outlet provides more than 1,600 free car park spaces and there will be an additional 1,000 car park spaces available in mid-2016.
Brands in the Outlet since its soft opening include Nike, Cotton On, Esprit, Puma, G2000, Carlo Rino, Clarks, Forever 21, Samsonite, Folli Follie and Sacoor Brothers amongst many others.
Recently opened brands include Marrybrown, Kickers, Travel For All, Akemi Uchi, Beverly Hills Polo Club amongst others and the Outlet is fully tenanted. Phase 2 will offer another 40 shops which are expected to be completed by end 2016.
Commenting on the Grand Opening, Chris Milliken, Commercial Director at London based Freeport Retail who are the long term managers of the centre says,”Our goal is to create a shopping experience where our customers can spend the whole day bargain hunting and bonding with loved ones and their families.
“Bargain hunting at an outlet village is a shared leisure activity enjoyed by both young and old. We are sure that they will find a visit to Freeport A’Famosa Outlet a fun experience where there is something for everybody; and for all ages.”
The opening of the Outlet follows the success of outlet centres in Johor Baru and near KLIA airport which have demonstrated that the outlet concept is a big hit with Malaysian shoppers.
The Freeport A’Famosa Outlet is a joint venture between UK based outlet specialist Freeport Retail Ltd and Langkah Realiti Sdn Bhd ,the owners of the popular A’Famosa Resort.
Chris Milliken further adds,“Since our soft opening, we’ve had activities and campaigns targeting young and old including on site activities such as the hosting of the 60 finalists of the Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International 2015 and the visit of 45 fashion bloggers to the outlet.
“A fashion forum and both offline and online activity was built around the brand activation exercise. This has helped boost traffic and employment in the town of Alor Gajah and Malacca state”.
Chris Milliken notes,“Shopping tourism has emerged as a growing component of the travel experience, either as a prime motivation or as one of the major activities undertaken by tourists at their destinations. We are proud to be part of a major tourism landmark in Malacca and will continue to work closely with Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Promotion Division of the Malacca Chief Minister’s office.“
“We will continue to develop programmes that cater to both local and foreign tourists. For instance, as a run up to the Lunar New Year programme, we have many promotional activities targeting shoppers. These include premium item giveaways, on site entertainment amongst other activities to build up the festive Lunar spirit.
“One of our major highlights is a daily performance from the multi award winning Kun Seng Keng Lion and Dragon dance troupe.”
The Kun Seng Keng Lion and Dragon Dance Association was founded in Muar, Johor, in 1988.The multi award lion dance troupe has since won more than 60 international accolades worldwide and more than 65 national awards. The Association currently has 22 teams as associates from Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.
They will be performing at the Outlet from Feb 9-22; every evening at 6.30pm. The half hour show will include a spectacular acrobatic lion dance performance on high stilts, a Monkey King dance and a Choy San Yeh (God of Fortune) performance.
There are now over 350 established outlets around the world – predominantly in the US and Europe but with rapid growth in Asia. Brands and customers fully recognise the benefits of outlet shopping as a complement to full price shopping malls and on-line retail.
Chris Milliken added:“Outlet development is a win-win situation for both brands and customers – there is benefit for all. Customers enjoy a day out as a shared leisure activity and looking for a bargain in an outlet is something that well over a billion people do every year and that figure is growing at over 10% every year”.
Source from: 29 JAN 2016 - www.thesundaily.my