Amid the crisis, outlets grow and Grande SP wins two new projects

Amid the difficult scenario for the economy, the outlet industry still finds a breath to grow, keeping an eye on the appetite of a consumer who still takes great care about how to spend his money. "The outlets unite two Brazilian passions: Famous brands and affordable prices," says Luiz Alberto Marinho, a member of the GS & Malls retail consultancy. With this perspective, the sector is investing in five new projects in the country until 2021, and two outlets should be inaugurated in São Paulo, still this year. The two new projects will be in the city of Guarulhos, in Via Dutra. The biggest investment will come from the Smart Outlet Airport, which will be ten minutes from the Guarulhos terminal. The inauguration is scheduled for September. Administrators design 90 stores, as well as restaurants, services and a mini farm to entertain children. Capitaneado by the Iron Capital Fund, the Smart Outlet will consume R $200 million in investments. The other project, the only brands, will specialize in sporting items and initially must have 15 stores. The fund responsible for Smart Outlet says to see space for another discount shopping mall in Greater São Paulo. The goal is to dispute space with the two "mature" ventures: The Premium Outlet, in Itupeva, and the Catarina Fashion Outlet, in São Roque – located respectively on the Bandeirantes and Castello Branco highways. "We want to be an option a little closer to São Paulo, especially for those in the East zone," says Diogo de Freitas Valle, director of Iron Capital. According to the Brazilian agency of Outlets (About), which develops and manages enterprises of the genre in Brazil, although there are initiatives of groups such as General Shopping, JHSF and Iguatemi, much of the managers of shopping malls is still Out of the discount segment. In this way, the sector opens to "beginners" in the area, such as Iron Capital, a fund that creates business from scratch and had not developed outlets. The reticence of some large groups – which is reflected in projects that are engaged – has made the sector grow slower than anticipated in Brazil. Since the opening of the first premium outlet, in 2009, 13 projects have been inaugurated in the country. In addition to the two projects of Guarulhos, there are three more planned until 2021, in Campo Largo (PR), Mogi das Cruzes (SP) and Recife. Mix The Smart Outlet will concentrate a group of well-known retailers from anyone who attends similar projects already in operation. Among the confirmed brands for the inauguration in September are Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Ellus, VR, Richards, Kopenhagen, Asics, McDonald's, Cheese Loaf House, Polo Wear, TNG and Chili Beans. For Valle, the venture brings some differentials in relation to the competition, although the mix is similar: "Our mall has air conditioning, we are closer to São Paulo and we stayed before the toll", he says. The fact that the same brands occupy different outlets is related to the fact that many of them have begun to produce collections directly for this niche, explains André Costa, partner of consulting About. "We conducted a survey and detected that 55% of the companies in the sector already produce for the outlets, but this number tends to grow, since it is impossible to supply new ventures with an important portion of the market acting only with stock of collections Old, "he says. "In this sense, the market still needs to develop." Frustrated expectations The American group Simon – the market leader of American outlets, with 86 ventures across the country – rehearsing to enter the Brazilian market, in partnership with the malls company BR Malls, but ended up abandoning his ambitious project. In 2012, Simon and BR Malls formed a company of outlets in which each would have 50% participation. At the time, the members announced that they would open 12 outlets by the end of the decade, with an investment of R $1.5 billion. Since the situation of the Brazilian economy began to deteriorate, Simon's project did not even generate a venture. According to André Costa, of the Brazilian Outlets Agency (About), despite being more resilient because of the sale with discounts, the economic crisis also affected the market expectations of outlets from 2014.