By Business & Finance Work on the Phase 2 expansion of Kildare Village, Ireland’s only luxury outlet shopping destination, has commenced and is scheduled to open in November 2015. The contract for the project has been awarded to Collen Construction and will see the creation of 120 new construction jobs, while the extended village will create an additional 380 jobs, bringing the total employees at the village to more than 1,000.
The Phase 2 expansion is set to add 36 new boutiques of international brands, which will bring the total number in the village to 100. The plans include two restaurants and a visitor centre with enhanced hospitality services for guests, as well as 437 parking spaces, which have been created for the development. The expansion will add an additional 5,544 square metres to Kildare Village, increasing the total size to 16,570 square metres.
Value Retail, developer and operator of Kildare Village, is investing €50m in the extension. Value Retail is the only company to specialise in the development and operation of luxury outlet shopping destinations, the Collection of Chic Outlet Shopping Villages. Since its beginning with Bicester Village in 1995, the collection has delivered double-digit gross sales growth each year, with each of the nine villages in Europe located within an hour of at least one major European city. Value Retail China, an affiliate of Value Retail, opened the first Village in China, Suzhou Village, in Suzhou, 50 miles west of Shanghai in May 2014. A second, Shanghai Village, will open in the autumn of 2015 next to the Shanghai Disney Resort, located at the heart of a Chinese government $5.5bn master plan.
Since opening in 2006, Kildare Village has become firmly established as a shopping tourism destination and has demonstrated consistent growth year-on-year. In 2013, Kildare Village attracted visits in excess of 2.3 million from visitors travelling both from Ireland and international markets including Europe, the US, China, Middle East, Australia, and Malaysia. These numbers are set to increase significantly when the expansion is completed, as Kildare Village will have sufficient critical mass to make it a more attractive destination for tourists.
