Frey's breakthrough in the outlet market

This will remain, for many, THE summer deal, the one that passed Frey in the top 3 outlet managers in Europe, even though he did not appear on this very specific market segment ago... 18 months ago

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This deal, or rather these deals, is the acquisition of three emblematic villages in Italy — Franciacorta, Valdichiana, Palmanova — in the framework of a joint venture with Cale Street for €410 million, but also the takeover of Land of Fashion, a management company specializing in premium outlets (five assets operated in Italy, including the three acquired by Frey). Note that this last operation was carried out via Frey's new specialized subsidiary, ROS (Retail Outlet Shopping), officially integrated in July... 2024.

All these highlights added up in a short period of time that materialize a change of course for Frey. Or rather a “complementary” strategy to its historical positioning in full-price outdoor complexes (23 assets, two under development), like Polygone Riviera acquired fromUnibail-Rodamco-Westfield in 2023 for €272.3 million. This is evidenced by the acquisitions finalized since... (see our table)

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Why this new positioning on the outlet? Antoine Frey, CEO of the eponymous group, whose economic assets have doubled since 2020, to €2.4 billion, sees this asset class — “a commercial Proust madeleon”, in his opinion — as the best commercial real estate sub-sector

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And the person interested in praising the “fairly strong” alignment of interests between lessors and lessees, “which pushes turnover up”. “These active outlets — there are only 210 in Europe — attract consumers once or twice a year who can drive up to 1.5 hours by car; it's a kind of shopping tourism. You have to be aware of that.”

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3 Min Read

June 06, 2025 01:00 AM

« L’outlet est à mes yeux le meilleur sous-secteur de l’immobilier commercial »

Moins d’un an après l’acquisition du quatrième gestionnaire d’outlets en Europe, Frey a accéléré sur ce secteur en s’offrant le Designer Outlet Berlin pour 230 M€.

Luc-Étienne Rouillard Lafond

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So, at breakneck speed, Frey made his mark, leading the development of the Malmö Designer Outlet head-on — “it's important for us to get our hands on this asset class to better understand it” —, the acquisition of Designer Outlet Berlin for €230m, and the acquisition of Designer Outlet Berlin for €230m, not to mention its latest Italian operations.

“Humanly (after the acquisition of ROS and Land of Fashion; 14 assets under management, editor's note)), this has important consequences”, summarizes Antoine Frey. “A year ago, we were 100; today, we are 320.” That says all about the group's ambitions in this area. “We put the watts on the outlet without diverting ourselves from full price,” he explains. “These are two complementary strategies.” But the outlet could allow Frey to take a “dominant position”, that's a fact.

“Given the scarcity of outlets, it is entirely possible within five to ten years to manufacture the undisputed leader in this segment in terms of size and to have a significant market share”, thus projects Antoine Frey who, by 2030, expects an equitable distribution between full price and outlet in terms of assets; the figure of €4 billion as a group share is put forward. This is why the group says it is “opportunistic”. “We aim for good deals on the top 70 European outlets”, summarizes its CEO. An early breakthrough in the United Kingdom cannot therefore be ruled out...

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carried out as part of a joint venture with Cale Street (company founded in 2014 in partnership with the Kuwait Investment Office).

**Operation that coincides with the acquisition of ROS (Retail Outlet Shopping), the fourth largest outlet manager in Europe.