Houston Premium Outlets has started construction on a major expansion that will add high-end clothier Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th to the successful retail center.
The outdoor center will grow in size by 27 percent — from 427,000 square feet to 541,000 square feet of leasable space. There will be room for 25 new stores, which will add an estimated 250 employees to the large regional center.
In addition to Saks Off 5th, retailers that have pre-leased space in Phase II include A/X Armani Exchange, Esprit, J.Crew, Joe’s Jeans, Lacoste, Talbots and Tumi. New stores will begin opening as soon as November.
All existing space in the two-year-old center is leased. Some of the 120 stores include Ann Taylor, BCBG Max Azria, Burberry, Coach, Michael Kors and Nike.
The 75-acre project is located on U.S. Highway 290 in Cypress, northwest of Houston. It’s part of Premium Outlets, a group of upscale outlet centers owned by Indianapolis, Ind.-based Simon Property Group Inc.
The move comes as shopping center executives are finally breathing a bit easier after a national survey reports improving sales and expectations during March.
Michele Rothstein, senior vice president of marketing for Premium Outlets, says the center is a destination for local, regional and out-of-town shoppers. The center has more stores than the average outlet center, she says, which helps draw more visitors. “People will travel farther,” Rothstein says. “That’s serious shopping.”
The troubled economic times may be contributing to the strength of the center, which offers discounts ranging from 25 percent to 65 percent on merchandise.
“We’re all living through tough times,” Rothstein says. “Outlets are getting a fresh look from people.”Paula Rosenblum, managing partner of RSR Research LLC, says fewer over-stocked, name-brand items are available at outlets because retailers have adopted leaner inventory habits, meaning they have less merchandise left over to pass along to the outlet. Plus, many outlet stores, like Saks Off 5th, buy merchandise geared toward the stores.
“Most of that is not excess merchandise from Saks,” she says. “Even if you buy a designer product there, it was often bought specifically for that outlet.”
Saks Off 5th will be the largest new store in Houston Premium Outlets, with nearly 29,000 square feet. The store will complement the Saks Fifth Avenue in the Galleria mall by selling value-priced designer clothes and accessories.
This is the third Saks Off 5th location in the Houston area. Others are in The Fountains on the Lake Center in Stafford and Katy Mills Mall, also owned by Simon Property Group.
The new store will be designed like a chain prototype that was launched two years ago.
TURNING POINT
Rosenblum, a retail consultant in Miami, was surprised to hear about the expansion at Houston Premium Outlets.
“I really thought outlet malls had peaked,” she says. “Obviously they found a place where there was a hole, and they’re filling it.”
The expansion of Houston Premium Outlets may be coming at a good time.
A survey of shopping center executives conducted monthly by the International Council of Shopping Centers recently posted its first gains in 32 months, with executives reporting an improvement in business during March.
The Shopping Center Executive Business Barometer increased by 4.5 percentage points to 52.6 percent. That’s the first time results have surpassed the 50 percent mark since July 2007. Results are based on sales growth, customer traffic, occupancy rates, rental rates, capitalization rates and executives’ expectations.
“March 2010 marked an important turning point for the U.S. shopping center industry,” notes Michael Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers, in a prepared statement. “After nearly three years of contraction, shopping center executives are finally optimistic on the current state of industry conditions across all five performance measures.”
Source: Houston Business Journal
Ryan Custom Homes was honored on Friday, October 30th with a Texas Star Award for Best Interior Merchandising of a Custom Home under $1 million. The award was given for the builder’s Provence home in Carlton Woods. This 4885 square foot home is filled with luxury features and sits on a three-quarter acre, wooded home site. 
Phyllis has been shopping for a new home in Fairfield is the most recent $1000 Shopping Spree drawing winner for the community. (Phyllis, left, with Christine Draughn, Fairfield Marketing Director.) 