Building new markets around the world
About me
I specialise in outlet villages and placemaking for retail, dining and entertainment focusing on non-saturated and emerging markets worldwide.
Since the 1980s and 1990s, outlets have developed and matured in the US, the UK and Europe.
Since the early 2000s they have also gained a firm foothold in China, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia.
However, there is still plenty of room for growth. I am passionate about helping entrepreneurs, investors and eager developers to pursue remaining outlet development opportunities worldwide, particularly in countries and on continents where authentic outlets have yet to establish a presence.
To this end, I am collaborating with leading retail and outlet experts from around the world — professionals and business contacts who have all been part of my network for many years and have extensive industry experience. They include retail and financial analysts, strategists, architects, marketeers as well as leasing and operational professionals.
To create the optimal retail mix, I utilise my profound international knowledge and network of brands.
I also support fast-growing retailers and organisations as they expand internationally.
In emerging countries, I help ambitious retailers to secure partnerships with the best international brands.
Quality lies at the heart of everything I do.
I am eager to bring the best out of any development.
What I Do
I support clients at every stage of outlet development and retail expansion, providing strategic advice to help them turn their initial idea into a feasible vision and profitable plan for the future.
My work also involves transforming good retail destinations into great ones.
MASTERPLANNING &
VISION
Helping to find the best outlet and retail sites to bring an initial vision to life
- Scout potential locations to identify the most suitable plots in terms of access, visibility, catchment area and market economics
- Identify and collaborate with the most suitable architects for the masterplanning and detailed design
- Establish technical feasibility in terms of best use, optimum size, phasing, layout and orientation
- Adapt the project size to demand and purchasing power in the catchment area, also considering tourism potential
- Conduct research to measure consumer interest and expectations in terms of brands, services, and the concept in general
- Have sustainability as a guiding principle to help my clients achieve accreditations such as BREEAM and LEED
B2B MARKETING &
RETAIL STRATEGY
Creating a most compelling story and marketing the project in all the relevant channels
- Devise a placemaking strategy including retail and gastronomy as well as hospitality and entertainement
- Curate a brand mix vision including anchor typologies, required unit sizes and their distribution in the project
- Develop compelling B2B marketing material including a website, digital presentations, videos, and computer generated images
- Find the best agency partners to create purposeful and impactful real estate marketing and messages
- Endorse the project on social media, communicate to the trade and business press nationally and internationally
- Raise awareness of the project at key industry conventions and relevant international or national conferences
LEASING STRATEGY &
BRAND NETWORKING
Attracting and retaining the best retailers for your project and building long-term brand partnerships
- Curate a detailed leasing strategy and build a tailor-made retail mix of national and international brands to attract the desired customer targets
- Plan an F&B strategy to meet the culinary expectations of the target customers
- Analyze presence of brands, whether directly or indirectly present, identify key distributors for international brands
- Gauge initial reactions to the relevance of a given market at brand partners´ head office level
- Identify best resources and local leasing experts to help market the scheme and develop all contractual documentation and legal framework
ACTIVATION STRATEGY &
PRE-OPENING
Making sure that the original vision is maintained throughout the development process, all the way to the opening
- Oversee the construction and delivery process in collaboration with the local team, architects, project managers and other specialists
- Devise a B2C marketing vision in collaboration with the best local talent to find a creative concept that can be translated throughout all marketing touchpoints
- Recommend the best resources for third-party services, such as CRM management, e-commerce and footfall counting
- Work with the brand partners so that they understand their position and role in the centre’s future success
- Recruit a local management team with the most suitable candidates through a rigorous selection process
RETAIL EXPANSION &
INTERNATIONALIZATION
Working with brands to identify the strategically most relevant markets for full price retail or outlet expansion
- Thoroughly analyse the retail market in terms of demand, demographics, consumer behavior, the competitive landscape, and the overall business climate.
- Advise on the best way to enter a given market, whether through direct presence, a joint venture, a distributor, a franchise or a licence agreement.
- Find the right partners and draw up a rollout plan with measurable milestones.
- Help retailers and distributors in emerging countries to form partnerships with brands that are not yet present in their country or portfolio.
My background
I belong to the generation that established the outlet industry in Europe in the early 2000s having worked with some of the sector’s pioneering developers. Today, I am eager to build on my background and help develop markets in emerging and unsaturated countries around the world, whether it is in the outlet or any other retail sector.
After starting my career in cosmetics and fast-moving consumer goods in Paris, I moved to London in 2000 to join the growing outlet industry in Europe. I was fortunate enough to work with industry leaders such as McArthurGlen and Value Retail as well as early adopters including Outlet Centres International (OCI) and BVS Outlet Villages.
As Marketing Director at McArthur Glen, I played a key role in the management of some of Europe’s leading outlet villages in their early years. These included McArthurGlen in Roermond (The Netherlands), Parndorf (Austria), Berlin (Germany) as well as Troyes and Roubaix (both France).
I set up my own consultancy, B2U Consult, in 2010. Since then, I have worked with various clients and partners to advise retail real estate developers and institutional investors on new outlet project developments.
One of my long-standing partners is TORG The Outlet Resource Group, a leading US outlet consultancy founded by Lisa Wagner. I became a founding member of the European branch in 2015. From the outset, we have shared the common goal of adapting the best global outlet practices to local market conditions.
My work with TORG has involved supporting developers in establishing a new generation of destination outlets in Europe including countries like the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Georgia. We have also evaluated outlet opportunities in many overseas markets, including Latin America, India, Malaysia and the Middle East.
I am multilingual and fluent in German, English and French, with a good knowledge of Spanish. I have always been passionate about travelling the world and discovering foreign cultures and mindsets. Since working in the retail real estate industry, I have been a frequent speaker and participant at industry conferences such as Mapic or ICSC.
Portfolio
Over the years, I have been commissioned by real estate developers of some of the most innovative and ambitious outlet and mixed-use destinations in emerging or unsaturated countries worldwide.
